The Unclaimed Child
by Britney Snow
Summary: A young girl lost her entire family, as an eight-year-old. Now, with almost no help, she must find the mother she never even knew existed. (Rights go to Rick Riordan)
1. The Intruder

**This is my first story, and I don't know how it is going to go. Please read my profile for my Rules for Reviewers.**

* * *

(3rd person)

A young girl was running through the woods. She had long cerulean hair and silver eyes. Her pale skin had small scrapes from twigs that brushed by her. In the faint moonlight tear marks could be seen staining her cheeks. Far in the darkness, a small flame banished the darkness. The laughter of many young girls could be heard from that direction. Doubt quickly entered the girl's mind forcing her to duck behind a rather large bush. She didn't have much social experience and most of it was bad. Before she had much time to think of an entrance, yelling from girl above her made her shriek.

"Hey! What are you doing here?"

* * *

(Artemis)

About a minute before now, we had been laughing and joking. Now my lieutenant, Thalia, was standing over a bush by the edge of camp with her bow drawn aimed down at a rather awkward angle. Thalia had been the one to notice a small noise by the shrub and went to investigate. She had quickly stood up to confront the intruder and was met with such a shrill scream; everyone had to turn away for the protection of their eardrums.

"Milady, you should come here for a second."

As I walked over, Thalia returned her bow and bent down to stand up what looked to be an 8-year-old girl. She was crying and I decided to alter my age to a 16-year-old to hopefully calm her down with a more motherly approach.

"Hello little one, my name is Artemis. What's yours?"

Through the loud sniffling, I managed to make out the name Britney.

"Thalia, go get some food for her. Britney, come and I'll bring you to the fire. It's a lot warmer there."

Britney slowly walked over to me and raised her arms up towards me. I looked at her for a second and she prompted me to carry her by quickly folding her hands in and out and saying 'up'. I obliged to her wishes and bent to pick her up, straightened, and then carried her to the fire. I had tried to set Britney down for her to eat the food Thalia had prepared, but she just tightened her hold on my neck. Several of my hunters cooed at this forcing me to glare them to silence. I decided to sit down with her in my lap that way she could eat and still be near me. I guess my motherly approach worked because she is really clingy. Britney scarfed down the soup in a matter of seconds and proceeded to look at Thalia expectantly.

Lilly, a daughter of Demeter spoke up. "I think she needs more soup Thals."

Britney rapidly nodded sparking many laughs and a groan from Thalia as she took the bowl to refill it. Phoebe, a daughter of Ares, decided to question Britney about her sudden arrival at our camp.

"Hey Britney, why were you hiding behind the bush?"

Britney responded with a look of pure terror that startled everyone, only for her expression to change to a joyous one from the arrival of more food.

I decided to take up the questioning, "How about a different question, Britney? What are you doing in the middle of the woods?"

Again, another look of terror. Thalia handed Britney the bowl, which changed her expression one again as Britney resumed her rapid eating as if she was starving.

"Britney, why do you eat so fast?" Thalia asked.

"If I don't eat fast, my dad would take my food and eat it. He told me that if I was actually hungry, I'd eat faster. And I don't get much food. If I ask for some, I only get water."

"Does your mother stop him?" I was astonished and couldn't stop the question. Britney paused to look up at me with her silver eyes.

"I never had a mother. My brother would try, but then he would get punished."

"How was he punished?" Thalia asked.

"I don't know, I'm not sure if it was the same for both of us. My dad would take him to his room and close the door. Then I would hear screaming for a few minutes and the door would open again. My dad would come out looking happy and my brother would have several cuts and be bleeding. My dad once told me that I would never get punished. I had to stay pretty for when I got older and could get him money. He lied."

A general look of horror was collectively seen on every hunters face. Thalia and Lilly looked especially pissed. Once Britney yawned, our faces became soft as I carried her to my tent for her to sleep.

I bent to put her on my bed, but once again, she refused to release me.

"Britney, you need to let go so you can sleep. I need to get back to the others."

Britney tightened her grip and pleaded, "Stay 'til I fall asleep." She looked at me with her big silver eyes; a bit of her hair was over her left eye, which only helped her puppy face. I reluctantly agreed and gave a small smile as I laid down. Britney tucked her arms in front of her as she scooted toward me to snuggle. I draped an arm over her to hold her closer, and soon heard her faint snoring. I slowly untangled myself from her and returned to my hunters, who looked to be planning something.

"Well, she finally let you go. Took awhile."

I glared at Thalia who made the comment as the others snickered.

"Well, I think that we should turn in for the night and ask Britney more questions in the morning. We should find out where she lives and see how her brother is doing."

Serena, a daughter of Athena, gasped in shock, "Are you saying that you care about a male!"

"No, I care about Britney who cares about her brother. Also, her brother may be somewhat respectable, as he seems to sacrifice himself for his sister. Now off to bed with the lot of you."

The hunters slowly walked to their tents. Thalia stopped to look at me with a confused look. "Do you think she's a demigod?"

"Wha?"

"Britney, do you thing she's a demigod?"

"I don't know, but it would explain her mother-less situation."

"Oh. Okay, goodnight Lady Artemis."

"Goodnight Thals."

I turned to walk to my tent as I conjured up a bucket of water to douse the flames. I entered only to find that Britney was sprawled out across the entirety of the bed. I moved her so I could lie down, and immediately felt her snuggle against me and watched a smile cross her face. I closed my eyes and drifted to sleep.

* * *

 **Well that was a thousand words. This is my first time writing a story and I hope it goes well. Britney looks like my profile picture in case you were confused. Thanks for reading.**

 **-B. D. S. (This is my initials. Using just my first and last is obviously bad.)**

 **Created on May 22, 2016.**

 **Edited on November 10, 2016.**


	2. The House

**This chapter has a bit of gore. You have been warned.**

* * *

(Britney)

I woke up from the sound of arrows connecting with targets and several "Ohh"s. It sounded like the girls were having an archery competition. It was strange hearing this sound; normally I wake up from the sun or yelling. I looked around and saw all of the decorations for Artemis's tent. Realizing I wasn't at my house, I shot out of the tent yelling for Artemis.

"Arty! Arty! My Brother is alone with my dad! I need to go back and see if he's okay."

Everyone turned towards me; some had forgotten that I was there. Artemis started to walk towards me while several girls quietly laughed at my nickname for Artemis. Artemis gave me a hug and wiped away tears that I wasn't even aware about.

"Hey, it'll be fine. We were waiting for you to wake up that way you could lead us to your house." Artemis turned to look at her group of girls. "Hunters, break camp. After we get Britney home we will go bake to the East Coast."

Artemis looked back at me while the hunters scrambled about, taking down their tents and packing their bags. It was strange to watch because they would just throw all their things in their tent, shout a command, and the tent would fold into a small square. As I was watching, I didn't notice Artemis ask me a question.

"What did you say?"

Artemis sighed while smiling and shaking her head, "I asked for the name of the city you live in."

"Oh. I live in Stockton, on the east side. I can see the woods from my house, but here is very deep into the woods."

"Okay. When we get closer to the city, I am going to need you to show us where your house is."

Artemis automatically picked me up and flipped me around to where I was riding on her shoulders. She moved to the bush that I had tried to hide behind and started walking through the woods. Her hunters followed in a diamond formation, with Artemis at the front and Thalia at the rear. None of the hunters made a sound as they moved though the forest. I decided to take this time to ask Artemis some questions.

"Why do you all have bows?"

"We use the bows to hunt our prey."

"What kind of prey, deer?"

"Among other things yes."

I wondered what other things she could be talking about, but I decided not to ask.

"How do you know where you're going?"

"I'm following the trail you left last night while you ran toward our camp."

I looked ahead and saw several broken branches and fallen leaves, scraped off by my light blue hoodie. I could also faintly see my shoe prints. As we ran, I noticed little landmarks that my brother and I created. There was the Climbing Tree and the Rock Cave. A few seconds later we were at the tree line, the hunters spread out behind trees, their arrows notched and waiting for a target. Artemis put me down and drew her own bow. She slightly turned to me and asked, "Which house is yours?"

"The one with the chipped paint and boarded windows. My dad doesn't take care of the house."

Artemis signaled to her hunters to wait as Artemis led me across the small field. She signaled to Thalia and another girl that I didn't know yet to follow us to my house. We were slowly walking up when the back door burst open as my brother rushed out with fear in his eyes.

"Elijah! Your okay!"

"Britney, get down!"

That was all I heard before a loud, resonating gunshot sounded from the back porch. Bright red blood spayed from my brothers chest as he fell to the ground.

My vision turned red as I pulled Artemis's bow out of her hand and fired the already notched arrow. It sailed into the other barrel of my dad's shotgun right as he was about to fire. The gun exploded in his face causing him to fall back inside. The house started making strange noises, but I didn't care. I threw the bow to the ground and ran to my brother's side, hoping that he was okay. I rolled him off his face and started pressing my hand onto his chest hoping it would help. My brother always told me that putting pressure on a cut would make it better. I hoped he was right.

I saw the other hunter come kneel down on the other side of Elijah while taking out a medical kit. She looked at me with serious ice-blue eyes.

"My name is Candice. I can try to help your brother, but I can't promise anything. Help me take off his shirt so I can patch him up."

Shaking, I pulled at his shirt; the bullet holes acted like a perforated line causing the shirt rip down the middle creating a vest. Blood was seeping out of every hole in his chest, turning his chest red. I looked at Candice expecting her to start putting bandages on him, but she was motionless.

"I-I-I don't think I can fix him, I-I'm sorry," Candice stuttered.

"Why not, why can't you do something?" I was crying heavily now, only to suddenly stop when I felt a hand on my shoulder. I looked up to see Artemis with tears in her eyes.

"The bullets went through his heart, nothing can save him," Artemis explained.

I looked down at my brother and was shocked to see his eyes trained on me, slightly moving his lips.

"Britney, stay strong. I'll watch over you but I can't protect you anymore. Find your mother, she can explain why Father was always mad."

"No, no, stay awake Elijah, someone can help you. Please stay awake." I grasped onto his hand, trying to force my life into his.

Elijah lifted his hand along with mine and cupped my cheek. "No one can help me little sis, find your mother, stay strong, and everything will be fine." With those final words, he closed his eyes, and let out his last breath.

"No, no, no!" I started sobbing my hardest at that point. I couldn't think of anything that could make this moment worse, until I heard that dreadful voice.

"Hey you little brat, you think that your gonna get away with that little stunt. That gun was worth more than your life, never mind that little sissy lying in his own blood. You're gonna earn the money for the gun and my face. Your old enough to start selling, I already got a few friends in line."

I turned to see my father using the door frame to support his weight. His face was mangled and bloody from the explosion, and the stock was embedded in his right thigh. Even with his semi-destroyed face, I could still make out his evil scowl. I was so mad at him I barely noticed Thalia tell Artemis that the building was starting to fall apart, and that we should leave. All I cared about was revenge for my brother, and as an eight-year-old, I did the one thing I could think of for revenge at this distance, I threw a small, round, 2-pound rock as close to his head as I could while being blinded by tears.

* * *

(Artemis)

I had heard Thalia comment on the building's structural integrity, but was infuriated by the way he spoke to Britney. I didn't care who he was; no father should use his daughter that way. I noticed Candice's look of horror, as her father had sentenced her to the same fate. I had happened to arrive before her maidenhood was taken, and she had gladly joined on many recruiting trips to save more girls from that fate. I was about to notch an arrow to shoot this filthy male, when I noticed a rock leave Britney's hand. My first thought was 'Wow, she took a shot faster then me,' but the rock sailed left. The resounding _snap_ was heard as the rock connected with the rotting door frame that shattered from the impact. The sound of rotting wood crumbling and the short scream of her father was all that escaped the dust cloud. Thalia motioned to Candice to help investigate and see if he survived, no doubt to finish him off. Britney stared at the heap with satisfaction in her eyes. She turned to her brother and muttered, "Serves him right for taking you."

I walked over to her and placed a golden drachma in her brother's mouth. "This is to help with his passing," I barely managed this sentence without tearing up. I looked up to see Thalia return with a smirk.

"Britney got him, no sign of life."

I smiled at Thalia's report and started to reach for Britney when she clasped my shoulder and whispered in my ear.

"We should head back to camp, if she can enter the barrier, then it means she's a demigod."

I nodded and knelt beside Britney, "Hey, lets bury him then I'll take us to my home."

Her only response was a small sniff, and a faint okay.

* * *

 **Well that's two down. Thanks for reading and please review on what could be better. The next chapter may not come put for a while because of school. Goodbye and good luck.**

 **-B. D. S.**

 **Created** **May 22, 2016.**

 **Edited November 10, 2016.**


	3. The Wall

(Thalia)

Britney decided that we should bury Elijah by their climbing tree. She said that he found it when they first explored, and had played many games in that tree. Lilly handed Britney a hunting knife, which she used to carve his name. ELIJAH SNOW

"Snow, that's a pretty name. Although your initials are unfortunate." I glared at Candice, a daughter of Apollo, who made the comment.

Meanwhile, Britney looked at Candice with confusion in her eyes, "What is B. D. S. supposed to mean."

It was Candice's turn to be confused, "What are you talking about?"

"Britney Delia Snow. That's my name. My initials are B. D. S."

"Bueno Deficient Syndrome. That works." I couldn't help my laughter as I remembered the acronym from my old band director.

Britney turned towards me, gasping in mock horror, amusement dancing in her silver eyes. "Are you trying to say that I'm a bad girl?"

"Hey, you can't blame me. Your the one that asked what your initials stand for."

Britney looked thoughtful for a second, then turned back to her brother's grave. She stared for almost a minute before instantly perking up and running in the direction of her former house.

"My brother had finished my present right before I ran away. It was on his dresser, and I think I can find it."

I shared a glance with Candice, only for her to shrug and tear after the young cerulean-haired girl. I watched for a quick moment before following at full sprint, catching up when Britney stopped at the edge of the wreck she created.

"His room was in the back left corner, right there."

After her comment, she started balancing across broken beams, making her way to the large mound of rubble, which I guessed was her brother's dresser still standing after the house's collapse.

Candice and I quickly followed, and assisted in removing the splintered wood and ceiling fragments. On top of the dresser, was a 6-by-12 inch chest. Britney stretched as far as she could and just barely grasped the chest before gingerly taking it down and quickly navigating back to the small field. She opened the chest and pulled out two bracelets accompanied by a note. Britney quickly scanned the note and had to wipe a few tears from her eyes before she handed the note to me.

 _Britney,_

 _I hope you enjoy my gift to you. When you put the bracelets on, you will feel a slight pinch. After that you will hardly feel the bracelets at all, but you cannot remove them, ever. You can will the bracelets to activate, you will know when you accomplish this and I believe that you will know what to do after the activation. It's a dangerous world out there, but I know that these will serve you well._

 _Stay strong sister,_

 _Elijah_

After I finished reading, I heard Britney take a sharp breath of air, as if in pain.

"Britney, did you actually put those on?"

"Of course, they're a gift from my brother and I trust him. I also want to see what they do."

Britney had the cutest focusing face ever. She simply closed her eyes and scrunched her face, trying to put all of her will power into activating her new silver bracelets. She looked like she was close, before a loud honk shattered her concentration. Artemis was successful in her quest to find us a ride to Camp Half-Blood. She managed to find a Greyhound, so the ride wouldn't be uncomfortable. I had been worried about her arriving in a school bus. Her loud entrance startled the other hunters who were either sparing or just relaxing. Lilly had been looking at some flowers and gave a quick little scream, causing the others to laugh at her expense.

"Come on," Artemis called from the vehicle, "we don't have all day. Plus in this thing we have to obey traffic laws, to some extent"

A few of us, including myself, smiled at her remark. We knew fully well that Artemis was not one to follow rules set by mere mortals, especially males.

* * *

(Time Skip: 44 hours of driving, plus lime zone skip from Pacific Time to Eastern Time)

* * *

(Britney)

I woke up from the bus stopping very abruptly; I started to shoot forward before Artemis's arm suddenly pined me to the chair. I guess she forgot that these things have seat belts. When everyone recovered from the harsh breaking, Lilly piped up with one of her quick insults.

"Dang Thals, your foot's heavier than Zoë's ever was."

Thalia looked back as she was getting up, "Oh whatever, you drive next time if I'm so bad."

Shania, a girl who claimed to be a daughter of Hecate, looked at my situation concerning Artemis's arm and decided to add an insult

"Lilly might have to drive, otherwise Britney will be stuck at each stop."

Thalia laughed as she got off, along with several other hunters as they passed Artemis who still seemed reluctant to take her arm away. One hunter made the point that I needed to breathe, and she should loosen her grip and let me get off the bus.

Artemis quickly pulled her arm away, somehow not realizing that she had kept her arm there for almost three minutes. She turned to undo my seat belt, but found me standing, waiting for her to get up.

I was the last one off the bus and was glad to feel the grass once more. The hunters were all walking toward a large pine tree while casting wary looks at me, as if worried about something. They stopped in line with the tree and waited for Artemis and I to catch up. At the top of the hill, I could see a large farmhouse all by itself.

I couldn't help the scoff that left my mouth. "This is the camp you were all excited about. There's just a house."

Surprisingly, the hunters just smiled. Thalia told me to take a few steps forward, and Stop when the scenery changed. I looked at her like she was crazy, but still took a tentative step forward. I was in the middle of my third step, when I felt like I walked into a wall. The sudden force made me fall onto my butt, and I glared at the hunt.

"Is this supposed to be a prank? I've seen you prank each other, but I'm not a hunter. I shouldn't be a target." I was expecting some of them to be giggling like they do when a hunter falls into their trap, but I was met with shocked faces.

"Does this mean that she's..." "No, this shouldn't have..." I picked up on bits of their whispering as I sat there, not moving from my new spot on the hilltop. Artemis looked like she was asleep, her eyes were closed and I could just about see her lips move. After awhile of staring at Artemis, and ignoring the hunter's whispers, I saw Artemis open her eyes and walk up to me. She reached down and lifted me back to my feet while brushing of my hoodie.

"Don't worry Britney, I called a friend to help us get through, he should be here soon."

I looked at her like she was crazy. "Get through what, there's nothing there."

The hunters shut up really fast after they heard me yell. Artemis just smiled and crouched down to my level. "Something is there Britney, a barrier that keeps things out that can cause great amounts of damage."

"So this invisible wall thinks I'm dangerous. I mean, I know I brought down a house with a rock but that was on the other side of the country."

"Not exactly, the barrier lets in people with a certain criteria. If someone doesn't match, then they can't pass."

"So what are the criteria?"

"I'll explain that later, I promise, but I need to go talk to my friend."

I watched as Artemis approached the newcomer. He was an older looking man in a wheelchair, how he got up the grassy slope behind him was beyond me, although even at this distance I could see the mischievous glint in his eye.

Artemis waved for her hunters to go down the hill; heading off to somewhere this patch of air didn't want me to go. I watched Artemis's hushed conversation with her friend. I noticed him occasionally looking past her as to look at me. I decided to stare straight at him and smiled when he glanced at me only to be met by my fierce gaze.

I covered my mouth with my hands so he couldn't see my giggling, and tried to recompose myself as they walked up to me.

"Hello little Britney, my name is Chiron. Lady Artemis here told me about your rather eventful introduction. I'm sorry to hear about your brother, he sounded like a caring gentleman."

I muttered my thanks while trying to hold back my tears, and then I thought about what he said and blurted out a question. "Why did you call her Lady Artemis?"

Artemis noticed Chiron's baffled face, as if that was one question that he didn't expect. "He said 'Lady' because it's how he shows respect to me. I'm kind of like his boss while I'm here."

"Anyways, back the other matter," Chiron started, "Artemis wanted me to explain how the camp boundary works. However, first I must test something."

With that last line, he pulled out a small bronze dagger. My eyes widened on the spot and I hid behind Artemis's legs, struggling not to cry.

"No! Get away from me! You just want to hurt me like my father did!"

I couldn't believe that this was happening again. I closed my eyes and hoped that this was a dream, that I didn't just cross the country to find safety, only to be killed. I was crying into Artemis's skirt and followed her with my eyes as she sat on the ground in front of me. In her hands was a steak knife and Chiron's dagger.

"Britney, we aren't going to hurt you unless you're okay with this. The reason why I can enter the camp is because I'm an immortal goddess. I'm the same Artemis from Ancient Greece. Because of this, mortal steel, like this kitchen knife can't hurt me."

I watched as she brought the knife to her left wrist, I was about to stop her when I noticed the knife pass through her not harming her at all.

"The dagger, however, is made from a godly metal called Celestial Bronze. It can hurt me."

I stared again as she cut open the palm of her left hand, wincing as the blade cut her.

"If the knife hurts you and the dagger doesn't, then you are mortal. If the dagger hurts you but the knife doesn't then you are immortal, like me. However, if both hurt you, then you are a demigod, half man half god. Is it alright if I test this, you can choose where I cut you."

I nodded apprehensively, and slowly put out my left hand wiggling my ring finger. Artemis held the finger and slid the knife just enough to draw blood. At the first sight of blood, Chiron wrapped my finger in a bandage. Artemis looked at me holding the dagger, the knife nowhere to be seen.

"Where next?"

I wiggled my ring finger on my right hand and Artemis grasped it and gave me a small reassuring squeeze. She slid the dagger down the length of my finger, watching as blood came out. I gave a small cry from the pain, which seemed to snap Artemis and Chiron out of their trance. Artemis pulled the blade away as Chiron wrapped the bloody finger. Both looked at the invisible wall with confusion written all over their faces.

"The test proved that you are, in fact, a demigod. You should be able to walk into camp." Chiron mused.

"Well, maybe I can now that we showed the wall that I'm a - Oof!"

Artemis started laughing. "Britney, you don't need to walk into a wall, Chiron can give you permission to enter."

I glared at Chiron, "What, why didn't we start with that?"

"I wanted to see if you were part immortal or not, make sure that the boundary was working properly, turns out it wasn't."

"Can you let me in now? I'm bored and there's not much here."

"Of course, I, Chiron, activities director at Camp Half-Blood, give Britney Snow permission to enter camp."

Nothing seemed different, so I decided to walk to where the wall stopped me. I felt no resistance as I came to the top of the hill, and was met with the sight of several unique buildings. There were 12 cabins set in a U formation surrounded by other numerous cabins. Every cabin looked extremely different, but each seemed to follow it's own theme. There was a pavilion with several tables, each full of other kids. In the distance were an arena and a large wall that occasionally spewed lava.

I heard the clopping of a horse on grass and felt a hand on my shoulder. I looked to see Chiron, standing over me. I looked at his figure and saw his lower horse half. I looked to his smiling face and back to Artemis, who was also smiling. I managed a weak smile before my vision darkened, and I felt myself fall.

* * *

 **Thank you for reading. The computer I'm writing on has a word processor, while my other does not. After 6/2/16, I won't have access to this computer. I will try to get another chapter out before then, but after that I might nit be able to write until mid-august. If I can't update, I will write my chapters out on paper, then upload them all at once. If I can update, well you'll be able to notice that rather easily. Please don't be afraid to send ideas, I'd appreciate them. Goodbye and good luck.**

 **-B. D. S.**

 **Created May 24, 2016.**

 **Edited November 10, 2016.**


	4. The Hunter

**This might be my last chapter for a while, I'll try to get a word processor over summer for my laptop. (This is a school computer.) Thanks for reading, I hope you understand why I may not update after this.**

* * *

(Artemis)

Britney looked shocked while gazing over the landscape, she was in awe until Chiron came up in his Centaur form and clasped her shoulder. Britney looked up at him then back at me, barley managing a weak smile. I smiled back before noticing her starting to collapse. I used my godly speed to rush and catch her before she hit the ground. Glaring at Chiron, I draped Britney over his back and we started walking to the Big House.

"You shouldn't have shown her your true form, she had barley taken in the scenery."

"I thought she could handle it, your hunters are normally very accepting of the immortal part of the world."

"She's not a hunter, she ran into our camp running from her abusive father. The next day, we set out to find her house and rescue her brother. When we got there, her brother was running out of the house, warning Britney to hide. Seconds later, her father shot him in the back with a shotgun. She grabbed my bow and shot an arrow into the other barrel right as her father was going to shoot again. The gun exploded and her father fell into the house injured. Candice, one of my skilled healers, tried to save him, but it was impossible. Britney's father got up once more and started threatening to sell Britney to his friends and insulting her brother. Britney snapped and threw a rock that brought down the house on top of her father. We brought her here to see if she was a demigod and show her a different way to live incase she didn't want to join the hunt. I don't think that she will be happy there anyway. Most of the hunt is four or more years older than her."

"Oh, I assumed that she was already a hunter."

"No, she's not. I'll take care of her, from here. It'll be better for her to wake up around the hunters instead of strangers."

"You have a good point. Take her off now please, I can feel her drooling on my back. It's rather disgusting."

I took Britney and carried her in front of me, with her head on my right shoulder. As I walked over to my cabin, I noticed my hunters chasing several Aphrodite campers around with their bows. I was about to yell for them to stop before noticed that my hunters had makeup on with glitter in their hair. I placed Britney in the grass, summoned my bow, notched an arrow, and fired it at the door of the Aphrodite cabin, spattering the entire front door with silver paint. I had a few of my own arrows for the occasional prank war.

"Hunters, put down your bows. Campers, please remove your curse on my hunters or I'll help them in their hunt."

I had notched another arrow and drew the string back halfway, just to intimidate them. The campers nodded furiously before removing the curse, making the hunters very relived. I unsummoned my bow and picked Britney up from the ground, dusting off her backside as I did this. The hunters went in the direction of the archery range, probably to challenge so of Apollo's children, while the daughters of Aphrodite looked at their now silver door with dismay.

"Hey, aren't you going to fix this horrid color blemish on our cabin."

I turned to see on of the Aphrodite girls with her hands on her hips with her sisters behind her with their arms crossed and smirks plastered onto their faces. I smiled in mock apology before conjuring three buckets of soapy water with sponges in them.

"Good luck," I called as I waved behind me smiling from their loud sighs of displeasure and defeat. I made it to my cabin and laid Britney down onto my bed, her drool already starting to leak onto my pillow. I changed back to my 12-year-old self as I walked out of my cabin searching for my lieutenant.

I found Thalia outside the Poseidon cabin talking to Perseus. They noticed me walking up to them and respectfully bowed.

"Milady, Percy says he found a possible new recruit. He said she wanted to talk to you before making a decision."

"Very well, lead the way Perseus."

Perseus nodded nervously before opening the door to his cabin. He was about to walk in before realizing his mistake and held the door instead. I nodded in appreciation to which he seemed relieved.

I laughed a little at the sight, "Relax Perseus, you still have my respect from when you to the sky from me and from how you treat women."

Perseus half sighed in relief and half groaned at my statement. "Thank you, Lady Artemis for respecting me, but can you call me Percy. Annabeth told me how my name means "the destroyer" in both Greek and Latin, and I'd rather not introduce myself as that."

"Perseus, you destroyed several Titans, including Kronos; helped slay the Giants, and helped in returning Gaia to her slumber. That's also not including to several monsters you faced, such as Medusa and the Minotaur."

"I had help with each Titan, Luke killed Kronos, you gods helped with the giants, and Leo and Festus were the ones to deliver the final blow on Gaia." Perseus couldn't completely hide the whining in his voice, as I this was a common occurrence.

"Always humble Perseus," I told him, "always humble."

"Hey Percy," Thalia said, "Where's this girl at and why are we in here."

"Oh yeah, um, she wanted to be in a room at the back, and we're here because she's also a daughter of Poseidon."

I walked to the back and was about to knock before Percy stopped me with by placing his hand on my wrist. I raised my brow at him, smiling when I saw his panicked face. He saw me smiling, sighed, and then used the hand he stopped me with to knock on the door with a special pattern.

A young girl peered out the small crack that appeared as she opened the door. Percy smiled and waved into the crack before the girl opened the door and literally pulled us in before slamming the door shut.

When she turned to face me I got my first good look at her. I guessed that she was around 15. She had braided black hair that reached halfway down her back, and sea-green eyes, a slightly greener shade than Percy. She also had chocolate brown flecks dotting her cheeks and was almost the same height as Thalia. I also noticed her small, trident shaped earrings along with her braces, witch looked like they had been on too long.

She started talking in a small, slightly pained voice, "Are you Lady Artemis?"

"Yes, I am. This is my lieutenant Thalia." I spoke in a small voice while Thalia smiled and waved at her introduction. I looked at her questioningly as I continued to speak, "Are you okay, you look like you're in pain."

She looked like she was about to say no before nodding her head, "My braces have been on for to long, my parents refused to let the doctors take them off."

She hung her head down as she spoke, which I lifted back up by bringing up her chin. I placed my hand over her mouth and willed for the braces disappear. She looked astonished, almost fearful by my actions, as if she thought I was going to hurt her. Then when she felt the braces vanish, her demeanor changed to that of a little kid on her birthday. The girl rushed me into a hug.

"Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou, those have been hurting me nonstop. It feels so nice for them to finally be gone."

Percy decided to speak once more. "Her name is Desiree Evans, I thought she would be better of in the hunt then here at camp. She has only trusted me up until now."

I looked at Desiree questioningly, "Why don't you trust anyone?"

Instead of answering, she looked at Percy pleadingly, Percy noticed and nodded in agreement.

"I saved her from her mortal parent. Her mother would always keep her locked in her room. The day I found her was the same day that her mother decided to sell her. She was about to be violated before I burst the plumbing and went through her window. Then I made it to where her mother herm mother's friend could never hurt her again." At the end of his explanation, he hung his had in shame. Thalia and I looked at him in shock, Thalia was about to say something before I beat her to the punch.

"You ki-"

Percy cut me off with a raised hand and looked at me with pain in his eyes. "I'm loyal to family, you know that. Besides, would you have done any different."

I realized that I had nothing to counter his reasoning. I turned back to Desiree, "The hunt consists of about 20 girls, and some have been with me for thousands of years. If you join, you'll get your hunting gear and my blessing, which enhances your, speed, stealth, and bow skills. You'll also become partially immortal, you won't grow older or become ill, but you must swear off boys and stay a maiden." I noticed her look at Percy with a panic in her eyes.

Thalia spoke next, "You can still see your brother when we visit camp; I see my own brother every once in a while. You just can't have romantic relations with anyone."

Desiree looked relived and let out a breath of air. "Okay, I want to join the Hunters of Artemis."

"Okay," I started, smiling happily at Desiree, "The pledge is 'I, your name, pledge myself to the goddess Artemis. I turn my back on the company of men, accept eternal maidenhood, and join the Hunt.'"

"I Desiree Evans, pledge myself to the goddess Artemis. I turn my back on the company of men, accept eternal maidenhood, and join the Hunt," Desiree declared, her voice devoid of doubt.

'I accept your pledge."

After the words left my mouth, I snapped my fingers and created a silver glow around Desiree. The silver light turned blinding and left wit a final pulse.

Desiree was outfitted in a black shirt with a silver hoodie trimmed with black. She had a pair of loose fitting, silver denim pants tucked into black, steel-toed hiking boots with silver laces. She had two silver hunting knifes strapped to her waist, and a silver bracelet.

Desiree looked at he outfit in awe. She noticed the bracelet and stared at it curiously.

"Press the crescent emblem," Thalia advised.

Desiree pressed the emblem and a bow formed into her hands. She felt weight on her back and found her quiver over her left shoulder. She pulled out an arrow and marveled at its design.

"Come on! I'll introduce you to the other hunters."

Thalia started pulling her newest sister out of the room. Desiree was dragged at first, but started to run, slightly outpacing Thalia.

"Perseus, can you follow me to my cabin. I found a little girl and I think it would be best for you and Annabeth to show her around."

"Sure thing Lady Artemis. Is there anything about her that I should know?"

"Yes, there is. Her name is Britney Snow, and she's not a hunter. She ran into our camp running from her abusive father. The next day, we set out to find her house and rescue her brother. When we got there, her brother was running out of the house, warning Britney to hide. Seconds later, her father shot him in the back with a shotgun. She grabbed my bow and shot an arrow into the other barrel right as her father was going to shoot again. The gun exploded and her father fell into the house injured. Candice, one of my skilled healers, tried to save him, but it was impossible. Britney's father got up once more and started threatening to sell Britney to his friends and insulting her brother. Britney snapped and threw a rock that brought down the house on top of her father, effectively killing him. We brought her here to see if she was a demigod and show her a different way to live in case she didn't want to join the hunt. The camp boundaries wouldn't let her in, however, both mortal steel and Celestial Bronze can harm her. Chiron let her into the camp, and as she was taking in the sudden change of scenery, Chiron went into his Centaur form causing Britney to faint. I brought her into my cabin that way she could be around familiar faces when she wakes up."

"You said that she had an abusive father and is in your cabin with your hunters, I'm a guy."

"Bring Annabeth with you, she can calm Britney down. Also, the hunters have enough respect for you to not kill you on sight, especially if I escort you. Lastly, you are the most decent male out there, I want to show her that her brother wasn't the only good guy out there."

"Okay, I'll go find Annabeth. Where should I find you?"

"I'll wait for you outside of my cabin."

* * *

(Britney) (Time skip-20 minutes)

I woke to several whispering noises, and I couldn't pick any of them out immediately. Several voices seemed angry, while other were worried. There were a few that sounded really excited, though. I started to move around, trying to get comfortable on my bed. The whispering stopped, as if my movements silenced them. I stopped moving and started thinking. I remembered that ridiculous patch of mean air that wouldn't let me into camp. I remember the test that Artemis conducted and her and Chiron were surprised by the results. I remembered walking into camp after Chiron let me in, and seeing all of the amazing buildings and landscaping. I also remembered something weird that happened. Chiron, the nice old guy in a wheelchair, suddenly had working legs, _four_ of them, from a _horse_. From his waist down was a freaking _horse_. Artemis was there when Chiron changed, she just smiled at me. She also said something weird, something about how she was from Greece, _Ancient Greece_. How she was the same Artemis that drove the moon across the sky, the same daughter of Zeus, sister to Apollo. That was just _weird_! It didn't seem possible. How could someone live that long? That was _thousands_ of years ago. I also remembered on small, last little detail. After Horse-Chiron showed up, I looked to see Artemis, supposed goddess of the moon, hunt, wild animals, wilderness, chastity and childbirth. Wait, how did that work? She was in charge of giving birth, _and_ being a virgin. Oh well, I'll ask her later. Anyway, I looked at Artemis, saw her smiling, smiled back, and then fell? My vision went black and I started falling... maybe I fainted. That was it, I fainted. But how did I get to this bed? And who is whispering, not 3 ft. from my bed?

I decided to milk the whole 'little girl' thing, by stretching and yawning as I blinked open my silver eyes. I saw a wall painted silver, only a few inches away. I rolled away from the wall slowly, looking straight ahead. My line of sight went up the wall, across the ceiling, and slowly down to opposite wall. Every surface was silver, it seemed a bit much, and some blue splashed in would look nice. I have that myself with my silver eyes and cerulean hair. I continued rolling and closed my eyes before I saw anyone. Once I was facing the other way, where I guessed the voices had come from, I opened my eyes. There were _loads_ of people there, just staring at me. There was what looked like all of the hunters, including a girl with sea green eyes that I had never seen before. Artemis was there too, along with two older kids that I didn't know. One was a boy with black, unruly hair and sea green eyes, the other was a girl with long blond hair and gray, stormy eyes. I yawned again, it was worth the suspense, and then I sat up in the bed and scanned the room. I locked eyes with Artemis and decided to mess with her.

"Hey Arty, where am I?"

Artemis blushed with embarrassment, trying to hide her blush and look pissed at the same time. Her hunters were snickering at her because of her blush, and the other two looked scared for me, like they thought Artemis was going to shoot me.

Thalia tried to calm her self before answering my question. "We are in Lady Artemis's cabin at Camp Half-Blood. We have been waiting for you to wake up for a couple hours. Another 45 minutes and we would have ditched you for dinner."

"How did I get here?"

"Chiron carried you for a while," Artemis started, "then we had to go separate ways and I carried you from there."

"Is Chiron still half horse."

The blond lady laughed at this, "Yes he is still half horse, he always has been."

I snapped my head look in her direction. "No, he was in a wheelchair when I first saw him."

The boy spoke next, "The wheelchair is a magic box of sorts. It hides his body from the waist down so he looks more human."

I thought about this for a second. I also compared this to that evil patch of air and Artemis claiming to be a goddess and decided it was plausible. I looked back at the two kids who I knew for sure were not in the hunt.

"Who are you guys, your not part of the hunt."

The boy gave a small smile, "My name is Percy, and this is Annabeth, my girlfriend. Lady Artemis wanted us to show you around camp."

I stared at them for a while longer, unmoving. I like to mess with people a lot, and making them uncomfortable is one of my favorite things to do. Percy and Annabeth started to shift uneasily before I started to laugh.

"Ha...your...faces...too...funny!" I couldn't even manage to form a sentence. Percy started to laugh a little while Annabeth looked mad.

Annabeth glared at me, "That's not very nice Britney, you shouldn't do that to people."

"Don't mind her, she just doesn't like to be tricked." Percy started, still smiling. "When ever someone pulls a prank on her she feels out smarted. Her mother is Athena, the wisdom goddess."

Annabeth turned her glare to Percy and punched him in the side. Percy keeled over hugging his side. He almost fell of the bed he was sitting on, straitening at the last second to show his still smiling face. Annabeth crossed her arms and huffed in defeat, causing Percy to smile that much more. Annabeth ignored him and looked at me with a look that made me feel like I was going to be there a while.

"So are you a hunter?" Annabeth officially started the interrogation.

"No"

"Why are you with them then?"

"I found their camp when I was running from my father. They helped me and I brought them to my house the next day, I was worried about my brother and wanted to see if he was okay. When we got there, my brother was running out of the house telling me to hide. As he was running my father shot him in the back with a shotgun, he shot his own son. (Annabeth and Thalia start to tear up) He was going to shoot again but I took Artemis's bow and shot an arrow down the other barrel, causing the gun to explode. Candice, (Candice starts to tear up. I look at her with forgiveness in my eyes which causes her to smile) another hunter, tried to heal my brother but couldn't. He died telling me to be strong and find my mother. My father got up again after the explosion, and started talking bad about my brother and how he was going to sell me. (Percy looked ready to kill) I hated how he was talking about my brother so I threw a rock at him, missed, and hit the door frame instead. The frame splintered and the entire house caved in and killed my father. The hunt helped me bury my brother near a tree he used to climb. After, I ran back to the wreck I caused and found these bracelets that my brother planed to give me on my birthday. After that I traveled with the hunters here to see if I was a demigod. The Camp wouldn't let me in and Artemis had to cut me with a steak knife and a bronze knife to see if I was a demigod. (Artemis conjured up both knives and passed them to Annabeth and Percy) Both knives cut me but the camp still wouldn't let me in. Chiron finally let me in and I looked around a bit before fainting. Then I woke up here."

Annabeth was gazing at the knives, lost in thought. Percy looked at me and asked the next question. "Why is your hair blue and your eyes silver."

Annabeth looked up at me again, along with everyone else, eager to hear my answer.

"I think I was born with it like this. I've never gone to a hair salon, my father would hand us a pair of scissors and tell us to figure it out. I also don't have those contacts that change your eyes. From what I can remember and what my brother told me was that my hair and eyes were always this way."

Annabeth was looking curiously at my bracelets, "Can I see your bracelet?"

I shrugged and extended my arm, holding it out to her. She looked at me strange and asked again.

"Can you take it off so I can hold it?"

I shook my head. "No, my brother made them to where one I put them on they can't be taken off. There is a way to activate them, but I don't know how or what it will do."

Annabeth seemed dissatisfied with my answer, but Percy was content. "Let's go around camp Britney," Percy offered. "We can show you around and find you a weapon to use. Maybe while we are out you can figure out how to activate your bracelets."

I nodded furiously and found myself looking to Artemis for permission. She smiled and waved me off, sending me running from the bed, only stopping when I realized that I don't know the way out.

"Percy! Annabeth! Hurry up, I don't know where the door is."

I heard Percy laugh and heard Annabeth yell 'Coming'. I impatiently tapped my foot waiting for them, and turned to follow them after they passed me. I was excited to finally see Camp up close, and not from a hill. Percy opened the door for Annabeth and held it open for me. As I walked out into the brilliant sunshine, I had to squint to get used to the light. I heard the door slam shut as Percy walked out, and I opened my eyes and gasped at the amazing sight.

* * *

 **That took a while. I made this longer to add in the scene about Desiree, my first and sadly only Hunter request. I would really appreciate any hunters that you want me to add. I currently have six. I got a word processor on my other computer, so updating will still be a thing. Thank you for reading,**

 **Goodbye and good luck.**

 **-B.D.S.**

 **Created May 30, 2016.**

 **Edited November 10, 2016.**


	5. The Arsenal

**This will be the closest thing to a filler chapter that I make. I wanted to make a chapter about Britney's bracelets. They may come across as over-powered for an eight-year-old. They are supposed to. They we supposed to be for her 10** **th** **birthday.**

* * *

(Britney)

I had just walked outside, blinded by the sun. I closed my eyes and covered my face in my hands. I had heard Percy slam the door and heard him walk to my left. I slowly uncovered my face and blinked open my eyes. I couldn't help but gasp at the sight.

There were several cabins, many more then I had seen from the hilltop. All of them were different; the one I was just in was gold, rivaling the sun in brightness.

There was one that was bright pink, another blood red, and one covered with obsidian and gems. There was literally too many to count.

I also noticed several shrines, small 5ft statues each depicting a different person. I turned and saw one of Artemis holding her bow, surrounded by deer. Percy saw me looking at the shrine and smiled.

"My friend Jason had those made."

I looked at him, silently begging for him to explain.

"He made a promise to a goddess," Percy started, slowly walking to a surprisingly bland building "he promised a shrine for each god and goddess, one at this camp and one in California."

I nodded in acceptance, deciding to go with it. I was still really confused about this whole 'Greek god' thing. I decided to try and figure out some stuff regarding this confusing topic.

"How is Artemis still alive? She is thousands of years old, she should have died a _long_ time ago."

Percy looked over my head at Annabeth, willing her to take over. "The gods are immortal, they can't die. There are some that fade, like Pan, but that was because his domain was destroyed. He was the Lord of the Wild. Gods can be turned into dust, Ares missed most of the Middle Ages, but they reform and come back. Monsters do the same thing. When we kill them, they turn to dust and might leave a spoil. The Minotaur left his horn, the Nemean Lion leaves its pelt, but they reform in Tartarus and come back again. The gods travel with the 'flame of the west' so they are still alive in America. Parts of their world moved as well, Olympus is over the Empire State Building, the Underworld is beneath Los Angeles, and the Labyrinth was under the entire country before we destroyed it. Because the gods are still alive, they are still going around making more demigods. Like us." Annabeth finished with her voice happy as if to inspire enthusiasm.

I stopped walking. It was like I needed the extra energy to comprehend what just happened. I kind of understood, I always could ask Artemis or the hunters if I need more help, but I felt like messing with Annabeth some more.

"Hey Annabeth?" I said while catching up to them, and matching their pace

"Yeah?"

"Can you say it all again? I wasn't listening after 'immortal'."

It was Annabeth's turn to stop, facing me with a very intimidating glare. I was covering my mouth, trying my best not to laugh. Percy started humming 'Everything is Awesome', obviously understanding the reference.

Annabeth heard the humming and looked at him with a confused face. Percy just smiled and hummed louder, trying to make her understand without telling her directly. Annabeth thought for a second before her face lit up in realization. She glared at me again, humor dancing in her eyes instead of the harsh irritation from earlier.

"That wasn't funny, Britney."

I started laughing, "Yes it was. It's like Percy said, you don't like being tricked."

Percy started laughing with me, causing Annabeth to switch the target of her glare from me to him.

"Okay, enough," Annabeth started, obviously not amused, "let's at least _try_ to find Britney a weapon before dinner."

I lit up in excitement, grabbing Percy's hand and dragging him towards the bland building we were walking towards earlier. Percy grabbed Annabeth's hand and pulled her, earning him a sharp yelp and a punch after she regained her footing.

We reached the building and pulled an all stop. Percy tapped my shoulder and pointed above the door to a sign that said 'ARMORY' making me really nervous. I didn't know about any weapons except the hunters' bows and their knives. I remembered my brother's letter and saying how the bracelets will help me. I hoped that they could serve as a weapon, I couldn't even feel their weight. Annabeth pulled out a key and opened the door, holding it open as Percy steered me inside. It was a very spacious room. The building was one room, the only organization was separating weapons from armor. I saw a very long spear at the top of the wall on the weapons side. It was as long as I was tall, and instead of a shaft attached to a head, it was more like a shaft with one end tapering to a point. **(========** **)** It was the first thing to catch my eye, and Percy saw me looking at it. He looked at the spear smiling.

"I don't think you could use that, Britney. It's to big."

I looked at him with a very serious face. "I could, just let me try."

Percy shrugged and took down the spear, handing it to me while still holding the weight. I glared at him let go, he responded with a shrug and dropped it. The tip banged against the ground while I was only holding the butt of the shaft. _I wish that this could be lighter, than I could use it._ I focused hard, trying to lift it. I felt my wrists get warm and noticed my bracelets start to glow. They both expanded, covering most of my forearm. I noticed a switch on both now expanded bracelets. The left one said _enter_ and _fire_ , while the right said _original_ and _copy_. I had a feeling of what to put, can't explain it, only felt that I knew what to do. I asked Percy to switch the left switch to _enter_ and the right to _original_. He did what I asked and I imagined the spear being pulled towards me. A horrible scraping sound reached our ears as the spear tip dragged across the floor. I felt a harsh pull on my left arm, so I let go with that hand and grasped farther along the shaft. Annabeth gasped as she noticed that my hand, along with the spear I was holding, was being _pulled_ _inside of my bracelet!_ I thought this was weird, but felt that it was safe and that I should continue. I had to slowly angle my arm down as the spear tip got closer. I also kept moving my left hand along, guiding the spear into the bracelet. The spear fully entered the bracelet, leaving a 3-inch hole and a glowing purple film where my hand used to be. I imagined letting go with my right hand and sliding out of the bracelet. Everyone stared as my hand reappeared from the bracelet and looked as normal as ever. I switched the switches _fire_ and _copy_ , not sure about what I was doing, but knew that I was right. Keeping my bracelets expanded, I looked at Annabeth and Percy.

"Is there a target anywhere? I have an idea."

Annabeth nodded, still in shock about what happened mere moments ago. I grabbed their hands and started to pull them to the door, trying to get them to take me to a target.

Percy snapped out of shock and pulled on Annabeth, effectively bring her head back down to Earth. Annabeth quickly locked the door and started walking towards a trail in woods, glancing back at my expanded bracelets every few seconds. Percy picked me up and put me on his shoulders and started to run towards the trail, passing Annabeth's startled face.

"Hurry up Wise Girl, let's go see what Britney's idea is."

Annabeth's eyes widened and she took off at full sprint, obviously eager to see what else could happen.

We arrived at the archery range in the middle of a competition. Thalia was up against a boy, both firing arrows at targets on the very end of the range. The hunters were cheering for Thalia while other campers were cheering for the camper shooting. Thalia ran out of arrows first and leaned on her bow, waiting for the camper to fire the last of his arrows. When he finished, Chiron and Artemis went to retrieve the targets. Artemis came back smiling, the target showing all of the arrows within an inch of the center of the target. Several of the arrows in the center were split. Chiron arrived next, showing most of the arrows at least two inches away from the center. He was also holding four arrows, indicating that the camper missed several times. The hunters started cheering while the campers groaned. Thalia held her hand out to the camper with a large smirk on her face. He slumped and slowly held out his bow. Thalia's smirk grew to an evil grin. She snatched to bow and twirled it around, all while smiling at the boy. She threw the bow into the air and pulled out a small mace canister, which morphed into a spear. She raised the spear and the sky thundered. The hunters were smiling at the bow while the campers looked on in horror. A massive lightning bolt struck Thalia's spear and shot towards both targets, obliterating both and the arrows, but not before tearing through the airborne bow, ripping it to splinters that burned to ashes before hitting the ground. The campers were in shock, they had expected Thalia to snap it in half, not obliterate it with lightning. Thalia handed the camper a string and a 2x4 that were both long enough to carve and string a bow. The hunters smirked at the campers as they slowly walked away, returning the smirks with glares of their own. Chiron shook Artemis's hand muttering before following the campers. I jumped off Percy and ran to Thalia, grabbing her leg as I got close to her.

"Since when could you shoot lightning!" I screamed, looking up at her from directly beneath her face.

Thalia picked me up laughing, "Since ever since. My father is Zeus, Lord of the Sky. That's the power I got from him. Percy can control water."

My eyes widened as I looked at Percy who smiled nervously. Annabeth took out her water bottle before splashing Percy with the water. Percy noticed and stopped the water, causing it to float in mid-air. He started making several hand movements, causing the water to hurtle to me before stopping at my face. I stretched in Thalia's arms and drank some of the floating water. Percy smiled and sent the water back into Annabeth's water bottle.

"Son of Poseidon, Lord of the Sea," Percy stated emotionlessly, as if that explained everything.

I looked at Percy and Annabeth thinking about what he said, "Aren't Poseidon and Athena rivals, how are they okay with the two of you?"

Their faces turned a bright red. "T-t-that's not important, your bracelets are." Annabeth stuttered, trying to get the attention off their relationship.

Thalia looked at my arms, "Britney, you activated your bracelets!"

I wriggled out of Thalia's grasp, landing on the ground. "Yeah, I did. I need a target for a big spear."

"How big?", I looked at Chiron, who asked the question.

"As big as me."

Chiron, Artemis, and the hunters were all stunned.

"Where is it?" Artemis asked with her eyes turning to Annabeth and Percy, wondering how they hid it.

Percy shook his head while Annabeth pointed at me. Everyone looked at me, all wondering how I was hiding it.

"I'll show you when I have a target."

Artemis nodded and summoned a target that was 4 ft wide circle and a foot deep. The target was on a stand supporting it a foot off the ground and 20 ft away. I walked to where I was in line with the target, everyone moved about 6 ft away and formed a rough semi-circle. I aimed my right bracelet at the target, willing for my hand to disappear back into the bracelet. My hand vanished almost instantly. Everyone was staring, most had their jaws wide open. I made the tip poke out of the bracelet, and pointed it straight at the center of the target. I willed the spear to eject like a bullet, and it worked. The spear flew straight, and _fast_. It was like I was super strong. The spear met the target with a resonating _crack_. Artemis walked to the target and we watched her jaw drop.

"D-d-dead center, and poking out the back," Artemis reported.

Everyone stared at me. I wasn't facing them, but I could feel it. I signaled for Artemis to move out of the way and she listened, stepping back a few times. I aimed again, for the same spot. I wanted the spear to fly even faster than the 1st one. Everyone saw me aim, and the spear still lodged in the target.

"Um… Britney, your spear isn't-" _BOOM!_

I cut off Annabeth by firing another spear that _broke_ the _sound barrier_. The shock wave sent everyone stumbling, everyone except _me_. Artemis looked back to the target and was silent. She snapped her fingers and teleported the target and spears in front of us, making it face to where we could see the side.

The first spear was gone. The second one ripped through the back and through the front. The base of tip of the second was a few inches from what was the tip of the first. I looked at my bracelet and willed for another to come out. I made it come out slowly and I walked backwards as it left. I flipped the right switch to _original_ and made the initial spear leave at the same pace that it entered. I let the original fall to the ground next to the copy. I picked up the copy and flipped the left switch to _enter_. I then proceeded to suck up the copy back into the bracelet, it traveling as slowly as it went in. I tried to make it go faster, but I figured that it could only go in slow. After it completely entered, I turned down range, switched both switches, and fired. Another spear hit the ground, I wasn't trying to go for distance, I was experimenting. I quickly fired another and we watched it hit the ground.

"I think you have unlimited ammunition," said Thalia, still in a daze.

"What? That can't be right, there is _no_ logic at all!" Annabeth was almost screaming in confusion.

"Annabeth, calm down," Percy started, trying to soothe Annabeth. "Maybe it's like Leo's tool belt and has a cool-down time."

I thought about this and aimed my right bracelet. I continued firing at slowly increasing power, making each spear land farther than the last. When I ran out of field, I took a step to the side and started from halfway. I got another Idea and held out my other bracelet. I continued to fire, and willed my other to do the same. They both reacted, both shooting identical spears at the same rate. I thought about increasing the power of both and they did. I tried increasing one and decreasing the other and it _worked_. I stopped firing and turned to the hunters. Smiling at their still shocked expressions.

"Guys, this is so cool. Have you seen anything like it."

Annabeth responded, "There is a son of Hephaestus, Leo, that has a tool belt that can summon tools found in a shop, but has a cool-down time and is limited to what is in a shop and what he put in there himself. Yours doesn't seem to have a cool-down time, and is only limited by what you put in what if that is unlimited."

As I thought about this, I pulled my hands back out of the bracelet. "Can I have an arrow?" I said, looking at Thalia.

"What?"

"An arrow. Annabeth said that I'm limited by what I put in my bracelet. I want to find the limit."

"I'll give you an arrow if you do two things first. Number 1: Call your expanded bracelets blasters, because 'bracelet doesn't do it justice. **(And I misspelled it every time I wrote it.)** Number 2: Clean up the spears."

I nodded and turned to face the littered field. I thought about the spears vanishing and waved my hand across the field. As my hand passed each spear, it vanished into nothing. All the spears left nothing but damage. I turned back to Thalia and re-extended my bracelets.

"I have no problem calling these blasters," I said switching the modes to _enter_ and _original_. Thalia smiled as she gave me an arrow. I pulled it into my blaster and switched the settings.

"Artemis, can you get a target for me?" I asked, trying to look somewhat pitiful.

Artemis obliged and summoned another target, at the edge of the field. I aimed both blasters and fired both at extreme speeds. I noticed that before the first one fired, the open end funneled to a small opening that was just wide enough to not disrupt the fletching, and streamlined the arrows. The arrows started to slit each other as the fire rate was that high. I stopped shooting and pulled out a copy before switching the copy for Thalia''s arrow. I handed back the arrow and kicked the original spear.

"Can someone carry this back to the armory? I can't carry it."

"I'll carry it," Artemis started, "You all get to the dining pavilion, dinner should be any minute now and you all can't watch me teleport this."

We started walking away as Artemis flashed away, taking the original spear with her. We heard the conch horn sound and the hunters all started to run towards the dining pavilion. Percy picked me up and carried me on his shoulders so he could go faster.

"Hey Percy?" I was curious about dinner.

"Yeah Britney?"

"How does dinner work?"

"Well there is a different table for the demigod children of each god. I sit at the Poseidon table, Annabeth sits at the Athena table, the hunters sit at Artemis's table, and so on. The Hermes table is always full because they house unclaimed campers. The head table seats Chiron, Mr. D., Rachel, and other guests. B-"

I cut Percy off, "Who's Rachel?"

Annabeth answered for Percy because he was lost for words after I cut him off. "Rachel is our Oracle. She will occasionally spit out prophecies."

"As I was saying," Percy continued. "Before we eat, we dump the best part of our meal into a fire and send it to a god of our choice. Most people pick their parents and the hunters usually pick Artemis. Before you ask, I think you should just say, 'to my mother,' and go with that. I did the same thing when I was unclaimed. I don't know where you will sit, my guess is either with the hunters or at the head table. Anyway, the food is whatever you want. Just think of what you want and it will be brought to you. After dinner, we will probably play Capture the Flag because the hunters are here. When they visit we go Camp v. Hunt. They always win."

After Percy finished explaining, we arrived at the pavilion. Percy set me down and walked to his table, alone. Annabeth went to her siblings and started to talk to them. I stood in the same place that I been set down at. I looked across the table silently observing. Artemis was sitting at what I guessed was the head table with Chiron and a man in a very loud Hawaiian shirt also sitting there. The hunters were all sitting together at another table. I kind of wanted to join them, but I decided against it. I decided not to sit with anyone and make my own table. I aimed my blasters at the ground and fired two, parallel rows of spears 3 ft away from each other. Each spear stuck out 3 ft. I sent out a bunch of arrows and laid them across the the spears. I created a bench the by firing four spears, making the spears stick out half the height of the table. I draped my hoodie onto my bench and sat patiently, waiting for my food.

A floating lady came up to me holding an empty plate and cup.

"You made your own table?"

"Yeah, I didn't want to join anyone. I figured that I could make my own table since I don't know who my mother is."

"Well as lovely as your table is, your table and chair must go when you leave."

"Okay, can I have my plate now?"

"Sure thing, sweetie." The lady set down the plate and cup and vanished into a soft breeze.

I looked at my plate and thought about what I wanted to eat. I imagined a small cheese pizza, covered in Parmesan cheese. I looked at the cup and wished for it to be filled with mango-strawberry lemonade. Once I finished thinking of my meal it appeared, morphing the plate's size to accommodate. I almost took a bite before I remembered Percy's instructions. I stood up and walked over to the fire pit and dropped a slice into the fire.

"For you mother, whomever you may be." I quietly muttered, watching the pizza burn into smoke and ash.

I went back to my table and was about to take a bite before Artemis started screaming.

"EVERYONE CLOSE YOUR EYES AND FACE THE BIG HOUSE! THE KING OF THE GODS IS COMING HERE! YOU'VE GOT THREE SECONDS!"

Surprisingly, there was no mass panic. Everyone looked to the very large, blue house and I'm guessing closed their eyes. You can't see someone close their eyes through the back of their head. Artemis saw me alone, looking around in confusion. She rushed to me in a blur of silver and I felt her hands over my eyes at the same time several flashes lit up the backside of her hand, making it glow. **(Like when you completely cover a large or bright flashlight with your hand)** Artemis took her hands away from me and I put down my pizza in awe.

There were ten people standing behind the head table, all looking vastly different and all having a ring of color around them. The campers noticed him and they all hastily bowed, including Chiron and the hunters. The man in front with a sky-blue ring of color spoke in a very theatrical voice.

"Dionysus," the man started, looking at the guy at the head table with the ridiculous shirt. "You are needed on Olympus. Bring the Oracle with you. Artemis." The man looked over my head at Artemis, "Bring the girl with you, you and her are both needed as well."

"Father," Artemis started, "May I bring the hunt, Perseus, and Annabeth. They can help calm her."

"No, they aren't needed. It would take too much effort to transport them."

"Nonsense father, I can transport the entire hunt and Britney. I've done it so much over the centuries, sometimes with even more girls. You can transport Percy and Annabeth."

"I said no, daughter. You would do well to listen. Take Britney and head for Olympus. Dionysus, you need to bring Rachel."

I looked from Artemis, to the man she called father, and to my pizza. I decided to speak in Artemis's defense.

"Hey you, Artemis's father."

The man looked at me with rage in his eyes, "DON'T YOU KNOW WHO I AM CHILD!"

"No, I've never met you."

"I am Zeus, Lord of the Skies, Thunder, and King of the Gods. You will address me with respect."

I got mad at that. This guy was as bad as my father, always demanding to be treated as the most important thing.

"No!," I stood up knocking the arrows I had laid out of the rows of spears and onto the dirt. "You're just a jerk father who should never have had children. You're even worse than my own father. I don't care who you are, you are just some old guy who needs to respect people as much as you want to be respected. Now go away and leave us alone, I for one want to actually eat today."

Zeus's eyes flashed with lightning as he looked at me with rage and hatred. The skies darkened and a lightning bolt struck his hand leaving a spear with both ends shaped like jagged lightning. Zeus raised the spear and pointed it straight at my chest. I heard someone yell 'Master Bolt, get down!', but I didn't listen. I heard Artemis gasp behind me and the time when my brother was shot flashed into my mind. I couldn't save him then, but I could try to save Artemis now. I spun around and shoved Artemis as hard as I could. She stumbled from the blow and landed on her back, staring at me in shock. A loud explosion sounded from behind me as I felt a burning sensation on my back. It felt like I grabbed the all of the wires from a power plant while they were all stripped and live. I felt my feet leave the ground as I flew several yards away from my makeshift table, landing hard on the dirt. I heard Artemis scream my name as my vision failed for the second time in one day. I smiled as I heard her, knowing that I succeeded in saving her from the epic blast. I felt her hands on my neck checking for a pulse as she screamed for Apollo. I felt myself pass out and stayed smiling, completely content solely because I saved Artemis.

* * *

 **I have to tell you guys, I feel like I'm getting no love for this story.** _ **No one has reviewed since chapter 2.**_ **I know where I want the story to go, I have most of the plot thought out, but I would really appreciate your input. There is one plot hole that I still don't have covered. I need an event that causes Britney to be unconscious or of the gods radar for 5 years that occurs a year from this point in the story. I have an idea that I'd rather keep a secret if I don't get one that I could use. I will consider any idea, I won't flat out deny it. Just no realm switching, I don't want Britney whisked off somewhere where one day there Is like a month on Earth. I need her to age appropriately and** _ **stay on Earth.**_ **Like I said, I will consider any ideas. If I get a lot of recurring inputs, I could make a poll of the most popular ideas. That's all for now guys, thanks for reading.**

 **Goodbye and good luck.**

 **-B.D.S.**

 **Created June 2, 2016.**

 **Edited November 10, 2016.**


	6. The Mourning

(Artemis)

I froze as I watched Zeus aim his Master Bolt at Britney, and I curse my inaction to this day. I should have got in front of her, or pushed her out of the way, or something. I heard Percy yell 'Master Bolt, get down!" but Britney didn't listen. She wheeled around and pushed _me._ _I_ should have pushed _her_. I tripped on a small rock and fell flat on my back. I clearly remember the smile on Britney's face as she saw me lying on the ground with the Master Bolt glowing behind her. The Master Bolt gave a resonating 'BOOM' as I watched Britney fly straight over my head and I heard her bones break as she hit the ground. I rolled over and ran to Britney's side screaming her name, sliding to the ground next to her. I felt her neck for a pulse while screaming for Apollo. I remember feeling a very weak and slow pulse as I looked to her face to see if she was still awake. I saw her eyes fluttering as she struggled to stay awake.

"Britney, hey, stay with me Britney."

I tried so hard to soothe her with those words. I wanted her to stay awake. Sadly, she just smiled at the sound of my voice and drifted to sleep. Her silver orbs have not seen any light since.

That was a month ago.

I have only talked to Apollo, the Hunt and Chiron since Britney was shot. Britney survived the explosion, but has been in a coma. I talk to Apollo on a daily basis to get the news on her condition. There is never any change. I told Chiron to train the hunters until I get back from a solo hunt. They all complained, my girls, the campers, even Chiron and Dionysus. I have been out in the woods, traversing the land. I'll kill any monster I come across, taking out my rage for what my father did to Britney. The same questions cross my mind every day: _Why didn't I protect her?_ and _Why did she smile?_

* * *

(Thalia)

The hunt as been in disarray, and I don't have the heart to stop it. Britney getting shot affected us all, we expected her to become one of us. We were there for the two most tragic things in her life: her brother getting killed, and her father being the one that pilled the trigger. She's gone through so much for an eight-year-old. Demigod lives are hard, but most people still have some family to go to.

Artemis left us here to train, but we don't. I'll train Desiree, but neither of us are in the mood. She grew attached to Britney through the stories we told. We mostly walk aimlessly or just shoot targets. The campers don't mess with us. They tried a few times but were immediately shot, boy or girl. Chiron tried to tell me to convince them to get them to stop, but I refused. I told him how Britney was like our sister, and we don't take crap from anyone after we lose a sister.

Percy and Annabeth with sometimes come and talk to me about the things Britney did while they were together. The three of us miss Britney dearly. We made plans to go to the council meeting tomorrow afternoon, and Chiron approved. He understood why we wanted to go. I promised the Hunt that I would find out about Artemis and Britney's condition. I fell asleep with the final plans of our departure in my head; I couldn't wait to see Britney.

* * *

(Artemis)

I felt Zeus call everyone for a council meeting right after I finished killing a pack of hellhounds. I had half a mind to ignore him, but I knew that wouldn't end well. I wondered how my girls were doing back at camp; they probably hated me for leaving them there with those males for so long. I'll get them after the meeting; it'll be fun killing these monsters with them. I flashed to the throne room in situated to where I was already in my throne. I was not the last to arrive, even with my dawdling. That honor, as always, goes to Apollo. Although based on his expression of worry rather than his usual irritated demeanor from having to eave another one of his one-night-stands, I'm assuming that it is because of his recent patient.

"Now that everyone is here, let's start the meeting." I think that Zeus should take the theater domain from my brother. He adds flair to everything.

"I called this meeting to discuss the unexpected accident that occurred at Camp Half-Blood a month ago."

This made my vision go red; something that Ares describes when he recounts a fight.

"An _accident_?" I asked in a voice that made everyone uneasy. Most of the effect was directed at Zeus, who squirmed under my gaze. "You knew fully well what you doing when you fired your bolt!"

I was screaming the last words, standing from my throne to convey the full effect.

Zeus also stood, not wanting to be outdone in what quickly became a screaming match.

"She should have treated me with respect, not scorn my parenting! She's eight, what does she know about parents."

"She has a mother whom she's never met, and a father who she killed after he shot her brother through the back and threatened to sell her body to his friends! She knows plenty about bad parenting, that's all she's experienced!"

Several of the gods gasped at my words, all turning to glare at Zeus for making Britney's life even harder. Zeus him self was uncharacteristically lost for words as he realized how badly he messed up. Apollo broke the awkward silence be clearing his throat, causing all heads to look in his direction.

"Um, if your done verbally beating Zeus I have news regarding Britney."

* * *

 **I'm ending this here, you can't stop me. You're not the author and I don't have a beta. I thought this would be the perfect cliffhanger. I already know what is going to happen in the next chapter and I'll try to write it as quick as I can. It will be rather long with all of the related events that occur. Spoiler Alert: More clues about Britney's heritage will be revealed. Anyway, that's all I got for now. Thanks for reading.**

 **Goodbye and good luck.**

 **-B.D.S.**

 **Created June 4, 2016.**

 **Edited November 10, 2016.**


	7. The Escape

(Artemis)

I registered the words Apollo spoke and immediately turned all of my attention towards him.

"Is she okay? Is she awake? Can I see her?" I rapid fired questions at Apollo which gave him an overwhelmed look.

"She's okay from a medical standpoint. Her vitals are stable and she is physically fine. She is awake, but you can't see her!"

Apollo added the last part on rather hastily when he saw my eyes light up and prepare to flash to his temple.

"Why can't I see her?"

"You can't see her because she is still recovering her strength. If you and your immortal Girl Scouts get in there you smothering might send her back into a coma. She is doing well considering she took a Master Bolt to the back at practically point-blank, but she is not ready for visitors. She misses you as well, that was one of the first things she asked, but I told her that she couldn't have visitors yet for the same reasons I told you. She wasn't even up for long, long enough to drink some water from a sponge but went straight back to Hypnos's realm before I got here. That's why I was late."

I was trying to think of an argument to counter Apollo's ruling, but I was interrupted by a gruff voice before I got any thing out.

"If you two are quite done, I have some news." The voice came from Hephaestus.

The gods turned to Hephaestus who, instead of looking at the council, was staring at a monitor sprouting from his throne.

"Soteria, goddess of security, sent me a video file while the twins were bickering. It was from the elevator camera and showed Perseus Jackson, Annabeth Chase, and Thalia Grace entering and leaving the elevator and heading here. That was all the camera got before the doors closed."

"What's the time stamp on the video?" asked Hermes.

"'Bout a minute ago. They should be here any second."

At his words the throne room doors were thrown open. Well, not really. More like pushed with great force until there was a large enough gap for the demigods to slip through. Thalia was the first one through and immediately locked eyes with me, anger abundantly clear I her gaze.

"What the heck, Artemis? You left us at Camp with no explanation and no instructions except 'train'. All of us hunters watched Britney take that bolt for you and you just left us. We would have understood if you left to check on Britney's condition, but that doesn't take a month! The Hunt has been out of control, and I can't stop it. To be honest, I don't want to either. You need to go back to the Hunt and explain to them why you went and _ditched_ us after a little girl, who was practically our sister, was shot with the most powerful of the godly weapons."

"I-I-I couldn't take it, you didn't see her face. After Britney pushed me down she just stood there and smiled. She didn't try to get out of the way; she just smiled as if she accomplished her life's dream. And after I ran to her side, she was still smiling. She just laid there dying, smiling to her hearts content."

"That's why you left, because she was _smiling!_ Do you not remember her brother, the single most important person in her life, whom she _failed to save?_ _You_ became the one that comforted her and took her to somewhere she thought she could be safe. _You_ became the one she trusted the most. You haven't even changed back into a twelve-year-old since we met her. _You_ became the most important thing in her life and she jumped at the chance to protect you from what she thought was another evil father. The last person she loved _died_ because he was protecting her; she wasn't going to let that happen again. You could have told _any_ of us hunters and we could have helped you understand. Heck, I just did a second after you explained to me. We were worried about you milady, the last time you went of alone, we were sent on a quest to rescue you and lost two hunters. Half of us were expecting Rachel to walk up to us and start spouting smoke again."

I was stunned by my lieutenant's words. I hadn't thought of how my actions affected them.

"I'm sorry," I weakly apologized, " I didn't think that my actions would affect you this much. After the meeting I will return to camp and apologize to the rest of the Hunt."

Thalia grunted in what I assumed was approval. She then turned to her father with a glare even more intense then the one she gave me.

"And you, father. What in your name were you thinking firing your bolt at Britney? She's eight for crying out loud! She says two sentences to you and you demand her respect. Did you not think that the reason Artemis was with her was because she had an abusive home like the rest of us? Artemis had Percy and Annabeth show her around camp so she could see that not all males are good-for-nothing jerks. Truthfully, we wanted them to fail so she would join us as a hunter. That being said, we were okay if Percy was one male that she trusted, we've all trusted him before and he has much respect for women. Although, as much as we wanted Britney to dislike males, we didn't want her reasoning to be because she got _shot_ with the _most powerful weapon know to the gods!_ "

"HOW DARE YOU SPEAK TO ME IN SUCH A TONE!" Zeus bellowed.

"YOU DO REALIZE THAT DEMANDED RESPECT FROM BRITNEY RIGHT BEFORE YOU SHOT HER! ARE YOU GOING TO SHOOT ME AS WELL!" Thalia started sparking as she screamed at her father. Percy and Annabeth were trying to hold her back as they silently implored Hera and Poseidon to do the same. Thankfully, they got the message.

Surprisingly, Hera was the one to calm Zeus. "Zeus, calm down. Your daughter has every right to be upset. From what I hear, Britney was a sister to them. You know as well as I do that the hunters don't like to lose their own."

"Is there anymore news?" Zeus asked, making it obvious that he was trying to control his temper.

At his words, Apollo's throne glowed blue. "Ah, Britney needs me."

The three demigods and I snapped our heads to face him.

"How do you know?" I asked.

"My throne became blue. That is what happens when a patient calls for me, and Britney is my only patient."

"She's awake, can we see her?" Percy asked, unable to control his slight bounce of excitement.

"No, she is not ready for visitors. If there is nothing else, I'd like to be excused to attend to Britney."

Zeus nodded. "Very well, everyone is dismissed." At the last words, Zeus flashed away as a bolt of lightning. When the demigods heard the first clap of thunder, they covered their eyes to avoid a painful death. They were still covering their eyes after the gods left, shifting awkwardly trying to decide if it was safe or not.

"Your clear guys." I said, much to their relief.

"Do you want to return to camp or should we try to find Britney."

They looked at me with a deadpan glare. "Isn't the answer obvious?" asked Annabeth.

I shifted nervously. "No, Thalia seemed pretty adamant about me returning to the Hunt, but also showed extreme worry for Britney. I can't tell which should be obvious."

Percy face palmed. "I know that I am commonly called a Seaweed Brain, but you should take that title. If you were needed at the Hunt so badly, Thalia would have brought hunters, not campers."

I nodded thoughtfully at his surprisingly valid point, however I have a reputation to uphold, and his insult did not go unnoticed.

"So Percy," I said smirking maliciously, "I noticed that you called me a Seaweed Brain. I don't take kindly to insults, especially not from males like you."

Percy paled and slowly moved his hand to his pocket in case he has to defend himself. Thalia glared with me and gave a slight wink to Annabeth to show that we meant no harm. Annabeth noticed and looked tense to help create the illusion I started. Percy, however, did not.

"I-I-I didn't mean anything by it. It was just a joke. Normally people have to point out the obvious to me, and you _always_ notice the obvious. It was ironic how the roles were reversed. I thought it was funny."

I couldn't stop my laughter. I started clutching my stomach laughing. I looked up at Percy's face and saw his dumbstruck one, causing me to laugh a little harder. Thalia and Annabeth were laughing along with me and Percy started to glare when he finally caught on.

"That wasn't funny Lady Artemis."

"Yes it was, especially given that you keep forgetting that I have much respect for you. You don't need to freak out all the time, only when I'm mad."

"I can't tell when you're mad or just joking. I think that was proven a minute ago."

Annabeth was the first to regain her composure. "Okay guys, let's go find Apollo's temple. I know were it is now that I've remodeled it."

* * *

(Britney)

Apollo was running _another_ vitals scan. I swear he does this every five minutes. He had just finished one when a yellow light above the door started flashing.

"Huh, looks like Artemis is back." Apollo mused.

"Visitors! Can I see them?" I asked, looking at Apollo with hopefulness clear in my eyes.

"No."

"Why not? This is the first she has come by while I've been awake."

"The moment you have visitors, I have to report to Zeus. Once that happens, he will demand your presence in a council meeting. And at that council meeting, you _will_ be given a prophecy. You're not strong enough for a prophecy so you will not have visitors. Okay?"

"Not okay. What if I am strong enough for a prophecy? I won't know until you let me out of this bubble you call a hospital room. I've been awake for a total of 10 minutes and I'm bored out of my mind. There's nothing to do in here and a prophecy sounds fun. What's the worst that can happen?"

"Death. A prophecy issues a quest, and those can be deadly."

"What's so bad about going on a quest?"

"Besides the fact that the youngest quester _ever_ was 12 at the time? Lots of things: there will be many monsters that you must face, you'll probably travel around the country, or even leave it. And a quest can very easily end in your death."

"Who was the youngest quester?"

"Percy and Annabeth, they were both 12 but the quest was assigned to Percy. They had to travel to the Underworld to find and return Zeus's Master Bolt, the very thing that you were shot with."

"Wait, so you don't travel alone on a quest?"

"Not usually, you're allowed two companions on a quest, however there was one quest where someone went solo, **(Clarisse, Sea of Monsters)** another where five were told to set out on the quest, **(Titans Curse)** another where four quested even when advised against it, **(Battle of the Labyrinth)** and another where the prophecy assigned seven. ( **Heroes of Olympus)** Percy played a part in all of these quests, you can ask him when you get out of here."

"So Percy, a boy commonly insulted for his lack of intelligence, has been on at least four quests _and_ is one of the youngest questers ever, and I can't go _one._ "

"For the record, Percy completed seven prophecies in approximately seven years, and was four years older than you for his first quest. You need a couple more years of training before you get sent on a quest."

"How am I supposed to train when you won't let me out of here, and the minute you do, I'll be sent on said quest? Why can't I just start the quest a couple years after it's assigned?"

"That's not how it works Britney, once you get assigned a quest, you have until the next day to leave. Now enough of this, I'm going to tell Artemis to leave and I expect you to be sleeping when I get back. You need your rest, now go to bed."

I huffed as Apollo walked out the door ignoring me. I got out of bed and summoned two spears to extend out of my blasters to help me walk. That ambrosia stuff doesn't work fast enough, and Apollo is too scared to give me more.

' _I'll ask him when he gets back,'_ I thought.

I walked over to the window to see who came to visit me. I was expecting Artemis, but not for her to be accompanied by Percy, Annabeth, and Thalia. They were all arguing with Apollo, and though I couldn't hear them, I figured that they were asking to see me.

' _What if I were to break put of here? I would be out of the hospital and Zeus would assign me a quest. Plus, I could see my friends again, and I still need to find my mother.'_

I looked around and found the ambrosia that Apollo would feed me. I broke a square in half and ate it, immediately relishing its healing properties. Apollo told me that it's supposed to taste like your favorite food, but the food my father made wasn't very good. The best food I've had was a bag of Lays from a gas station, and that was mostly air. For me, ambrosia doesn't taste like anything, but is somehow still good. I felt the ambrosia heal my back and I dismissed my spears and retracted my blasters.

I tried to open the door, but it wouldn't budge. I looked back at the window with a plan forming in my head. I ran to the window and looked back to where Apollo was earlier. I saw him walking to a very large building, which I guessed was the throne room. It was big and grand and the only building that fit that description. I saw my friends starting to link hands and I panicked, I need them for my plan.

I quickly opened my window and fired an arrow between Annabeth's feet, seeing that she was the closest. I was met with a slight squeal in terror from my target. Annabeth quickly composed herself and picked up the arrow, analyzing it. I dismissed the arrow causing it to vanish from her hand and confirm her theory of the arrow being mine. She looked back to my open window and saw me, pointing at my waving self to show the others where I was. I held up my and to signal for them to wait before I ran to the desk in the room.

I found a pen and paper and quickly wrote a note.

 _Hi! Wait for me while I grab my stuff.  
P.S. My shirt is a goner, could you have Artemis sent one up tied to an arrow?  
P.S.S. Fire a warning shot at the building near the window so I know when you're going to shot through the window._

I folded the note into a paper airplane and threw it out the window, not waiting to see if they received it. I ran into the closet and grabbed the stuff I came into the hospital with, so basically my clothes from my waist down. I heard a _thunk_ on the outside of a building followed by another sound in the main room. I ran into the room changed into the jeans and shoes (and the clothes underneath them) and grabbed the shirt that Artemis sent. She wrapped it so the shirt would stay on the arrow until it hit the ceiling, where it would then fall from the shaft and land on the floor. I hurriedly put the shirt on and quickly wrote another note, which I fired out the window.

The note said _Catch me._

I walked to the wall opposite of the window and started to run. I jumped out the window and immediately hit a problem; there was a wall very similar to Camp Half-Blood. I was between this wall and the palace wall when I had an idea. I started shooting spears that opened holes in the invisible wall and I slipped an arm out of one and fell through the in visible wall.

This created another problem: instead of me flying out the window and landing twenty feet away, I was falling two feet away. This was quickly solved with a blur of silver that rushed to catch me and, thankfully, succeeded. I was in Artemis's arms with her holding me bridal-style. I wrapped my arms around her neck and nuzzled her chest, relishing the warmth and forest-scent that washed over me.

I started squirming to be let down, but Artemis didn't let go, in fact, her grip steeled into one where I couldn't escape. I sighed in defeat and tuned my head to face the others.

"Percy, Annabeth," I called, receiving a call of 'What?' as they walked closer to me.

"I'm going to beat your record."

"What record?" Percy asked.

"The one where you two are the youngest questers at the age of twelve."

"That's a record?" Annabeth asked.

"Yep, and I'm going to beat it."

"How so?" Thalia asked this time.

"Because, Apollo said that once I'm out if the hospital, which I am, Zeus would call a council meeting that was supposed to happen a month ago when he came to Camp, but then he shot me."

"How is that supposed to beat a record?" Artemis asked. Are they purposefully taking turns?

"Because Apollo said that at the council meeting, I will be assigned a quest. That's why Zeus told Dionysus to bring Rachel to Olympus a month ago."

"Nope, not happening, your too young to go on a quest." Artemis stated definitively.

"Apollo said the same thing, that's why he wouldn't let you see me."

"Well if he used that as his reasoning, we wouldn't have let you out either," said Annabeth.

"Well you did, so now we should go to the throne room and scare Apollo. It'll e funny to see his face when he sees me out of the hospital."

"That would be funny to see," Artemis mused. "Alright, let's go to the throne room. Don't forget, Britney can take two companions, or maybe the prophecy will send more with her, you never know. Or she could break the rules and take three companions like Annabeth here did when she was 15."

"Yay, let's go! And put me down already!"

"No," stated Artemis, "I'm not letting you go until I have to."

I sighed in defeat as we started walking to the throne room.

* * *

 **Done. I'm finally done. This took a lot longer then expected. Thanks for reading and I'd love it if more of you reviewed. I'm open to ideas if you have them.**

 **Goodbye and good luck.**

 **-B.D.S.**

 **Created June 7, 2016.**

 **Edited November 10, 2016.**


	8. The Prophecy

**The clue is in this chapter. I promise.**

* * *

(Britney)

We entered the throne room the best possible way for our plan. Our intention is to reveal me from behind everyone else so we can surprise Apollo and see his face when he finds out that I'm not in the hospital. We arrived with Artemis at the front, Annabeth and Thalia were on either side of her, and Percy was on the other side of Annabeth. I was behind Artemis who altered her age to be about the same height as the others. Everyone was slightly flaring their auras so their power would overwhelm mine. It was perfect.

"Brother, what would happen if we saw Britney without your permission?" Artemis asked, exactly as scripted.

Apollo turned in his throne, apparently waiting for Zeus to show himself so Apollo can report to him. "That's impossible, you can only enter my palace with my permission."

"What if we went through a window?"

"The rooms that a patient is in are invulnerable from the outside. You couldn't break in."

That was my cue. I jumped up so my head was between Artemis and Annabeth and my arms were wrapped around their necks. Percy reached his right hand around my waist so I was supported well enough to not come crashing down to the floor.

"But what if you were to break _out_?" I asked cheekily.

"W-W-What are you doing Britney!?" Apollo sputtered. "I called Zeus a few minutes ago. If he catches you out of your room-"

He was cut off by a large lightning bolt that connected from the ceiling to the two thrones at the base of the two columns of thrones. The lightning bolt subsided and revealed both Zeus and some other lady on their respective thrones.

"Apollo," Zeus boomed, with the lady quietly face palming in reaction to her husband's theatrics. "You said you wanted to discuss your patient's condition, I was not expecting her to show herself."

"I wasn't either, father. Britney broke out on her own accord." Apollo grudgingly admitted.

"Yeah, I was bored and Apollo said that if I got out, I'd go on a quest. And that sounds a lot more interesting than lying in a hospital bed until I'm twelve."

Zeus slammed his Master Bolt into the ground, calling the rest of the gods for a meeting. Artemis grew to her godly height and returned to the twelve-year-old form that I first saw her in briefly when I first entered her hunter's camp. The other gods slowly flashed in, I obviously didn't see this because Annabeth slapped her hand over my eyes. Artemis gave the all clear and Annabeth removed her hand from my face.

I looked around the room and saw twelve people that were ridiculously tall, all sitting in vastly different thrones. It was like what Annabeth called 'The Original Cabins'. The thrones were even in the same order. Percy, Annabeth, and Thalia walked over to Zeus and _kneeled_. It was like they bowed to them.

I remained there dumbstruck as Percy walked over to a man in what looked like the most overly decked out fishing chair and kneeled to him. Annabeth walked to a lady with the same stormy eyes the Annabeth sported and kneeled to her. Thalia kneeled to the lady that arrived with Zeus. After they kneeled the second time, they returned to where I had remained standing. A lady sitting on a throne made completely of plant life looked at me puzzled.

"Why don't you bow like the others?" she asked.

I answered her with out facing her. Instead, I glared at Zeus. "And give that terrible excuse for a father another chance to kill me." I growled.

Zeus looked pissed. Even worse than when he had shot me. My friends at my side started to look at each other, silently making a plan to escape if things went south. Artemis tensed and leaned forward in her throne, as if to throw herself in the path of any projectile that came my way.

"HOW DARE YOU! I COULD SMITE YOU WHERE YOU STAND!"

"The same way you did at Camp. All that accomplished was postponing this meeting that you called for a month. And Apollo's palace is boring and hurts my eyes, I'd rather not go back in there."

The lady next to Zeus placed a calming hand on Zeus's shoulder and turned to face me. "Young lady, it would be wise to respect Zeus while you're a guest in his house."

That made me angry. "Why should I respect him for a reason such as that? He shows up uninvited and unexpected to Camp and expects for _us_ to respect _him_ when he is the guest at our home. He shows up and immediately starts to order Artemis and Dionysus around with out even saying 'hi'. Artemis tried to reason with him and convince him to allow her to bring the Hunt as a way of easing me into this whole Greek thing, and he claims that there isn't enough space. There is plenty of space! This room is mostly empty; there are only twelve chairs and a fireplace. Zeus shows no respect for anyone, why should I give him the honor of my respect."

"I AM KING OF THE GODS!" Zeus screamed, "DEMIGODS LIKE YOU DON'T DESERVE MY RESPECT, BUT AS KING I AM ENTITLED TO YOURS"

"You may be king, but a king is only as strong as its kingdom and strengthened by loyalty. You would be wise to remember your father and his father, and how their end was brought to them by their children. And then remember that over half of the Olympian council is made of yours."

Zeus paled a little at my words, and I smiled maliciously at my victory.

"Now that that matter has been resolved, can we discuss why I was supposed to be brought here a month ago?"

"I sensed that a newcomer at Camp was the subject of a prophecy," started Apollo. "I saw a vision of a blue-haired girl with silver eyes and told Zeus who to look for and bring you here along with my Oracle. Apparently my Oracle was not brought so we must send someone to fetch her." Apollo finished while looking at a man on the end of the male side who had a winged hat and shoes.

"I'm going," the man sighed, and he stood up and said 'flashing' while looking at the group of demigods.

We all closed are eyes, but Annabeth still felt the need to cover my eyes. The light died away and I tried to pull Annabeth's hand away, but she slapped my wrist with her other hand.

"Not until he gets back."

I huffed and crossed my arms, impatiently tapping my foot while waiting for the man who left. Another flash came and faded which was the signal for Annabeth to finally remove her hand. The man that left had returned with a girl about their age, so early twenties, with long red hair and green eyes. Percy and Annabeth ran up and hugged her and they shared pleasantries. I think I picked up the name Rachel. Zeus cleared his throat, which snapped the demigods out of their little world. Percy and Annabeth walked back over to where Thalia and I stood, while the new girl, Rachel, went and kneeled to Zeus, then Apollo, then walked over to us. We were all standing there for a while and my feet started hurting, so I sat down on the floor.

Apparently, this was a bad thing. The most of the gods gasped in horror, a few of them smiled expecting another argument between the king of the gods and an eight-year-old girl, and the demigods stiffened while Percy tried to pick me up and place me on my feet. Zeus was once again pissed, but the lady next to him just waved her hand and five wooden chairs appeared behind us. I smiled to the lady as I went to sit down and Annabeth looked stunned.

"The lady next to Zeus is Hera, his wife." Annabeth whispered. "She normally dislikes all demigods and we normally don't like her. You're probably one of the first people to smile at her."

"Maybe if you're nice to her, she'll change."

Annabeth scoffed at my comment and said she'll tell me a story later. After us demigods were settled, Zeus started on talking again.

"We are here to talk about the young girl before us. Apollo has told me that she will be assigned a very important quest, and I felt the need for us all to hear it and try to discuss it. Due to unfortunate events, this meeting was delayed until Britney was in good health. Now that she is, we shall wait for the Oracle to issue a prophecy. Britney, please consult the Oracle."

Rachel waved at me and I waved back. I spun slowly looking at the gods before looking straight at Artemis.

"Arty, what am I supposed to do?" I asked.

My question, sadly, was not answered. Instead, most of the gods burst out laughing. Apollo and the man with wings were laughing the hardest. Artemis was blushing furiously, her face turning a golden color. Still blushing, she fired an arrow at several of the gods, the arrows hitting the exposed parts of the chair close to their inner thighs. This effectively silenced the council and Artemis smiled before turning to me.

"Ask Rachel a question, a question that you're dying to know the answer to."

I nodded and walked in front of Rachel. Percy and Thalia got up walked on either side of Rachel. I looked at them and Percy just signaled for me to carry on and I shrugged. I looked at Rachel before deciding on my question.

"How can I find my mother?"

Rachel smiled, as if knowing that the question would work. She opened her mouth and green smoke started falling out and wrapping around me. Her eyes glowed green as she stared at me. The room around me faded until I was in a large black room with little pricks of light dotting the walls, floor, and ceiling. A large, white, glowing circle appeared in front of me and opened two glowing green eyes, like Rachel had. Green smoke emanated from the circle and a voice entered my head.

" _The unclaimed child must go west, alone,_

 _and on the way, be joined by friend and foe._

 _To find her mother she must conquer the creator of all,_

 _to trust too much or too little, will destine her fall._

 _And although this may take long to pass,_

 _the unclaimed child will be claimed at last."_

The black void around me vanished and I fell to the ground, startled. The scenery changed back to the throne room, and I saw the smoke return back into her mouth before she fainted. Percy and Thalia caught her and carried her to the fireplace to rest. I looked up at the gods and several of them had waiting expressions.

Annabeth picked me up and settled me into my chair. "No one knows what the Oracle said, all we saw was smoke surrounding the two of you. That normally doesn't happen."

"Wait, none of you guys heard that?"

"No," Percy answered. "Like Annabeth said, that's not normal. The reason you were brought here was for all of the gods to hear the prophecy and discuss it, but only you know the prophecy."

"Rachel knows, she said it." I said, trying to not be the only person who knew the prophecy. ' _The unclaimed child must go west, alone.'_ Am I already alone?

"Actually," Apollo started. "She won't know. It wasn't her who said it. The Spirit of the Oracle of Delphi possesses her, she has no memory of what she said."

"Oh, so should I say it then?"

"Yes," Hera answered. "That's what we're waiting on."

I recited the prophecy and looked around to still see waiting faces.

"Are you going to start? I'd like to return to my game with Chiron before dinner."

I spun on my heel to face the speaker. I found that it was the same guy from Camp that Zeus had called Dionysus.

"What do you mean? I already finished!"

Several people perked at this, eyeing the other gods in disbelief.

"Britney, you didn't make a sound. You just moved your mouth as if searching for words." Artemis said trying to sound soothing, but failing miserably. I just fell to the ground and cried.

'Am I already alone,' I thought. 'No one can help me on my quest, or even hear it to help me figure it out.'

"Hey, don't cry," I looked up to see Thalia looking at me while rubbing my back, trying to calm me down. Percy and Annabeth were sitting around me also smiling, but I could see the worried look in their eyes. The fact that they couldn't hear the prophecy scared them.

"Try rephrasing the prophecy, maybe we can hear a revised version?" Annabeth suggested hopefully. I couldn't tell if she was trying to convince herself or me.

I shook my head, "The first line says that I 'must go west, alone', I don't think it will work."

"The first line says what?" Percy asked.

I looked at him hoping to see disbelief, but saw questioning instead.

"You didn't hear me?" I asked, trying to hold back tears.

Annabeth spoke up. "We heard 'The first line says that I ' then you paused, then you said 'I don't think it will work'. Why did you pause?"

"I didn't pause! I quoted the prophecy! None of you can hear it because I have to go by myself!" I started sobbing as I finished, curling up in a ball on the floor trying to ignore the stares boring into my skin.

"Britney, it's okay. It's okay." I could hear Thalia and Annabeth trying to comfort me, but I knew it wouldn't work. I heard someone call for 'Sister' and tell her to change form. I felt myself be picked up by someone who was very warm and I fall asleep in that person's arms, my last sight was a woman's face who smiled warmly at me before rocking me into my slumber.

* * *

(Artemis)

The council was shocked, and none of us liked it. We all turned to Apollo and demanded an answer. Our voices were a bit loud because Hestia sent Percy to tell us to 'take this outside'. We listened and most of us flashed away to Apollo's waiting room.

The ones present were Apollo, Zeus, Hera, Athena, Poseidon, Demeter, and myself. Everyone else left to his or her own activities. Percy arrived at the palace doors and said that Annabeth and Thalia sent him to relay information after we were done. We nodded and allowed him to join us.

"Why couldn't we hear Britney's prophecy, brother?" I asked with venom dripping from my words. His domain was malfunctioning and was making Britney cry, something I had hoped was past after the full realization had hit her after her brother died.

"I don't know. I know that Britney wasn't lying when she said that she was quoting the prophecy, that I'm sure of."

"Wait, whenever part of the prophecy was spoken, only Britney heard?" Percy asked, obviously confused.

Apollo nodded and we were once again stunned. Athena broke the silence with another one of her hypothesizes.

"Britney said that the first line says something that causes _only her_ to know what the prophecy says. What if she is the only one that knows, because she has to do this alone."

"That can't be right." We looked to Percy who blurted his statement before cowering under Athena's gaze.

"Are you suggesting that I'm _wrong_?"

"Yeah. Annabeth had her solo quest for your statue, but we heard her prophecy from Ella. Plus, I myself said the lines when we were trying to figure out what they meant."

"That wasn't a solo quest," Apollo stated. "The third and fourth lines were about rescuing Nico. That prophecy was for all of you."

Athena had a smug look on her face from being proven right, while Percy leaned back in his chair. I kept on thinking about all of the pain that Britney has gone through since I meet her. She showed up at our temporary camp, terrified; was threatened by Thalia before we knew who she was; and that was the first day! The next day, all the family she knew died and she had to travel with a bunch of people she didn't know to the other side of the country. She also had multiple panic attacks as the realization of her brother's passing hit her hard. The she got to Camp and wasn't accepted by the borders there, and she had another scare when Chiron brought out his knife for a test which she only let me conduct. After that terrifying experience, she was exposed to the gods' existence much too quickly and fainted at the sight of Chiron's centaur form. She seemed alright when she woke up, but got shot by Zeus before even having a chance to eat and was put into a month long coma. Now, she has been assigned a quest that no one else can hear and cried herself to sleep because of it.

A sudden thought crept into my head.

"Apollo, did Britney ever have a chance to eat after she woke up?"

"No, she was barely allowed to drink water. Why do you ask?"

Percy seemed to realize where I was going with this. "When Zeus shot her, Britney was about to start eating her pizza. She was never even able to take a bite; she took the Bolt instead. If she never ate while with you, then the last thing she ate was from the ride to Camp from California."

"She didn't even eat much during the trip," I added. "She was in too much shock from her brother's death. The largest meal that I've seen her eat was from the first night I met her. She had two bowls of rabbit stew."

Apollo paled. "Are you saying that her last decent meal was over a month ago?"

Percy and I nodded.

"Should we send an Iris message to Hestia?" Percy asked.

Apollo nodded and Percy left to the nearest water fountain to send the message. Athena's lit up again before she proposed an idea.

"What if we were to ask Britney a question about what the prophecy said? So far, the prophecy is only unable to be repeated."

We all nodded slowly, her proposal slowly making sense in our minds.

"Okay, why don't we make a list of questions for us to ask. We can go through the list and ask Britney the questions before using her answers to come up with more questions." Athena was bouncing with excitement from her idea. She was always one for logic puzzles.

"Why can't we just have her write it down?" Percy asked while returning to his seat. "We've only been denied hearing to prophecy, no one has tried writing it."

We nodded to his proposal; my brother seemed slightly more excited about Percy's idea then Athena's, probably because of less work. Athena glared at Percy again whether it was because he more people liked his idea, or because he came up with a simpler one, I couldn't tell. Either way, I didn't want to see Percy killed from Athena's wrath; Annabeth wouldn't be very happy about that.

"What if we write a bunch of questions until Britney wakes up and eats a little, then we have her try writing it down. If writing doesn't work, then we'll try Athena's game of Twenty Questions." I thought that my idea was sound; the only looks of disapproval were from Athena because my comparison of her idea to a ridiculous mortal game.

We agreed on my combination of the two ideas and Athena summoned a sheet of paper and a pencil. She scribbled for a few seconds before looking at us.

"Okay, I wrote 'Does the prophecy say that you have to go alone?' Does anyone else have an idea for a question?"

Percy laughed, "You only have only question ready? You made it sound like you already had more."

"Hey, Britney didn't say much. All she said about the prophecy was that the first line says something that makes it to where only she knows the prophecy."

Their argument continued, but I wasn't paying attention. I was trying to think about what Britney said before we called Hestia. She said something about not pausing, and quoting the prophecy, and then she said something else. I couldn't quite remember.

"Hey," I shouted, silencing the petty bickering. "What did Britney say before we called Hestia? I remember her saying that she didn't pause, she quoted the prophecy, and the n she said something else that was distorted by her sobbing. Does anyone know what she said?"

Everyone looked at me. Athena started rubbing her temples trying to think. Everyone else had thoughtful faces as we tried to think of what she said.

"Oh, I remember her saying 'None of you can hear it because I' then I could only hear sobbing, and I was right next to her."

We all look at Percy while he was still trying to remember the last part of the sentence.

"Was she quoting the prophecy again, or did she try rephrasing it? If she never tried rephrasing it, then maybe my daughter's idea will still work."

We all nodded in agreement before Percy spoke again.

"Well, since that's done, we have three theories we can try and Athena's can be added to if we have more questions that we can ask Britney, let's go back to the throne room and wait for Britney to wake up and eat. Also I'd like to tell my friends what happened here before Britney wakes up."

Percy looked around before getting ready to walk away. I stopped him with my voice.

"Perseus, cover your eyes and wait, I wish to speak with you for a moment."

Percy sighed and I tried hard to keep a straight face. The other gods flashed out, but Poseidon gave me a wary look before leaving. I guess he is worried about his son. Apollo sighed when he realized that he couldn't leave because I was still here. A god can't leave their palace if another god is in there.

"Perseus, open your eyes," I ordered.

Percy slowly lowered his hand and looked at me, obviously scared.

"Perseus, I know that your fatal flaw is personal loyalty, but if the prophecy says that Britney must go alone, then she will. I will not have you risking her life by trying to usurp the prophecy. I know that you tagged along uninvited on Zoë's quest and became the fifth quester, but this is different. That quest had room for you, if this one does not then you will _not_ intervene."

Percy was ready to argue, I could see it in his eyes, but he knew that he had no argument for this.

"I'm not going to make you swear on the River Styx, but if I see you trying to follow Britney, then I will capture you and keep you with my Hunt as a prisoner and slave. I won't let you out of my sight until Britney is done with her quest. Is that clear?"

Percy nodded and looked around as if silently asking to leave.

"I'll flash the two of us over there, it'll assure the others that I didn't kill you. And tell Annabeth what I said, and also tell her that my promise does not exclude maidens."

Percy nodded and I put my hand over his eyes and grasped his shoulder before flashing away to the entrance of the throne room. I signaled for him to walk in first and he did before I followed. I felt Apollo's presence behind me as he flashed in after Percy was behind the door. I entered the throne room and saw all of the gods that went to Apollo's temple in their thrones. Percy was over by Annabeth explaining my threat to the two of them. Thalia was with Britney and Hestia watching as Britney was happily stuffing her face, looking the same as she did when I first met her. I walked over to her and sat down beside her.

"How are you doing Britney?"

"I'm fine, Hestia's food is really good. Why did Percy drag Annabeth away with a panicked face? He said something about you threatening them."

I sighed, "We think that your prophecy says that you have to go alone. If it does and they follow you, either they will die, you will die, or you quest will never be completed."

"It does," Britney said before biting another mouthful off of her pizza.

"It does what?"

"I does say that-" I was met with silence once more. Britney saw my look of confusion before looking down cast again.

"Wait, it says that you have to go alone?"

Britney looked up at me with hope in her eyes, as was expecting her to nod or something but she just stared. I took the time to call the others.

"Sister, Britney is answering the questions now!"

Athena perked up in her chair and ran over while pulling out her list of questions. The other gods came over, along with Percy and Annabeth, but much slower. Sadly for Athena, Hestia made a wall of flame appear if front of her and created enough deck chairs for all of them on their side of the flames.

"That's as far as you'll get," Hestia said.

Athena looked ready to argue, but decided against it and sat down. As she sat, the flames died and Hestia waved the demigods over to her to sit.

I turned back to Britney, "What was your answer Britney, all you did was stare at me."

Britney silver eyes widened in horror, "No I answered I –"

We all looked in confusion as she was silenced once more. She saw are faces and let loose a few tears.

"How did you answer?" Athena asked, trying to sound comforting.

"I-" We were hit with silence one more.

"Every time she tries to say something that gives conformation on the prophecy, she is silenced. Maybe that is a sure sign that she has to go alone." Athena's idea made Britney curl up into Hestia, as if she didn't want to be alone.

"Wait, let's try my idea," Percy suggested. Britney looked hopeful as Athena conjured another sheet of paper attached to a clipboard with a pencil. She handed the items to Britney who started writing. Britney paused several time as if trying to spell words she didn't know. She finally handed the paper back to Athena and started fiddling with the pencil.

Athena looked at the paper with her face in utter confusion.

"Britney, this has six straight lines of varying length." Athena said showing the clipboard to all of us. We saw what Athena saw: six lines which all had a different length, the longest being the third line. Britney didn't, however, and made that clear with another outburst.

"What are you talking about? I can see the words I wrote from here! I know my spelling isn't the best, but I tried! I'm only in second grade, I don't know how to spell-"

"Britney," I started, "I don't think we can help you. Every time you seek help from us, it is denied. I think that we are right in our assumption that you have to go alone. I'll take you and your friends back to camp and you can rest before leaving tomorrow. You can even take another trip to the armory and get a few more weapons for you bracelets, you could do with a weapon for short-range fighting."

Britney nodded, small tears staining her cheeks before looking up at me and brushing her cerulean hair out of her face.

"I want to leave at night." Britney stated.

"NO!" Percy shouted. "You can't do that, monsters are stronger at night. They will find you and kill you before you leave the state."

Britney shook her head, "If I leave at night, then I won't be completely alone. My brother would sometimes comfort me when I was scarred of my father's yelling. He said 'Tell the moon your problems, your secrets, your dreams. Tell the moon anything, because your mother will hear it. Your mother is the moon.'"

Everyone gasped and I could feel the gods staring at me. Britney noticed this as well and turned to face me and look me in the eye. I could only look at Britney's silver eyes as they bored a hole into my own.

* * *

 **Well there's the clue on her parentage. Sorry if this took a while. I originally meant for this to be part of Chapter 7, but that would be a really long chapter. Hope you enjoyed this, thanks for reading.**

 **Goodbye and good luck.**

 **-B.D.S.**

 **Created June 11, 2016.**

 **Edited November 10, 2016.**


	9. The Questions

**What did you think of the clue? There is one person who has made four guesses, and I** _ **said**_ **that they were all wrong. However, even if you guess correctly I will still say that you are wrong... even if you were right. Anyone is welcome to guess, but I won't spoil anything.** _ **EVER**_ **.**

* * *

(Britney)

Everyone was still stunned from what I said, I couldn't tell why. It was weird how although I said something, everyone was looking at Artemis, who was looking at me.

I took this time to wonder why I had silver eyes and cerulean hair; my father had black hair and brown eyes along with my brother. I was also wondering how I was so much paler than the two of them.

My brother would tell me that I have my mother's looks, but when I would ask him what she looked like all he could remember was silver eyes and a cold glare, as if she didn't like him. Elijah told me that he saw my mother look at me with a warm smile, but would turn to him with a harsh glare. He never figured out why.

As I was thinking of Elijah, I thought about the last time I saw him. When he was shot. His final words replayed in my head.

' _Britney, stay strong. I'll watch over you but I can't protect you anymore. Find your mother, she can explain why Father was always mad.'_

My eyes watered as I thought of that day, I hoped I would never see one worse. The words kept replaying over and over until I felt myself start to cry. Artemis noticed and finally snapped out of her trance.

"Britney, what's wrong," said Artemis as she wiped my cheeks with her thumbs.

"I was thinking about my brother, and the things he would tell me about my mother. And-and how he died."

As I finished a new wave of grief washed over me and I started sobbing again. I felt Artemis hold me and try to comfort me as she rocked me in her arms. I also felt a different set of hands and opened my eyes to see Thalia look at me with a mix of sympathy and horror painted across her face. She was there when it happened, she understood.

I looked at the lady that Annabeth had bowed to when the gods first entered. She said that the lady's name was 'Athena' and was her mother.

Athena looked like she wanted to question me, but was trying hard not to. I nodded slightly to give her permission to question me as my tears subsided. Her face lit up as she opened her mouth with her first question.

"What did your brother say about your mother?"

I inwardly sighed with relief, I hoped that she wouldn't ask about my brother's death.

"He told me that she had silver eyes like mine, but he couldn't remember much else. He only saw her once. She was at the front door and dropped me off saying something about having to return to the moon. She smiled warmly at me before setting me down on the porch before glaring at my brother and father. Then she walked into the forest and a silver light connected where she was to the moon. He never saw her again."

I looked around at everyone and saw that they were once again staring at Artemis. I angled my head and shifted in her arms to look at her. She was still smiling at me, but the smile was weak and it looked like she was worried about something else. She was also considerably pale. I was worried about her, but I didn't know why. I'm pretty sure I feel this way because Artemis has taken care of me ever since I showed up at her camp outside my house.

I looked at the other demigods and found them to be much different then the gods. Annabeth was looking at the gods with that face that she makes when she analyzes a problem and is looking for a solution, Percy had created some water and was playing with it and making different shapes and figures, and Thalia had her face in her hands so I couldn't tell what she was thinking. I was still trying to read her when I heard Zeus growl.

"Daughter, can you explain this?"

I felt Artemis stiffen and her body lost most of its heat. I looked up at her again and found her still looking at me, but with a panicked expression. I glared at Zeus because I hate it when he makes Artemis scared. He reminds me of my dead father in so many ways.

"Can you ask nicely?" I hissed with equal ferocity.

Artemis gave my arm a slight squeeze as if to comfort me. It didn't work very well. It was Annabeth who stepped in to try and smooth over the situation.

"Hey Britney, can I talk to you for a second. I want to tell you about some Greek history before you leave. It might come in handy."

I nodded and wriggled out of Artemis's arms. After I escaped, I walked up to Annabeth who was gathering Percy and Thalia. Percy just dissipated the water before standing at Annabeth's side. Thalia was a bit more stubborn. She shook her head and cast a glance to Artemis.

I turned back to Artemis and saw her looking very interested in the stonewall surrounding the hearth. She looked up at me and I smiled at her, trying to make her feel better. She smiled back, but her heart wasn't in the smile. I could tell something was bothering her, but I didn't know what. I wish that I knew what to do to help her feel better. After all, that's all she's done for me since I met her.

I turned back to Annabeth who had given up on trying to persuade Thalia to join us. She grabbed my left hand and Percy grabbed my right, both of them leading me to the other side of the throne room where we couldn't hear the others.

When we reached the other wall, Annabeth put down her chair from the center of the thrones while Percy put down my chair and his own to where all of the chairs were facing each other. **(The chairs that Hera summoned when Britney sat on the floor.)** I sat down in my chair and looked at Annabeth expectantly. She said she was going to tell me about Greek history, and I was kind of interested.

"What are you going to teach me first?" I asked, slightly bouncing in excitement.

"Actually," Annabeth started nervously. "I'm not going to teach you anything yet. I wanted to ask you if you knew why Zeus was so angry."

"I don't know why he was mad, only that he shouldn't talk to Artemis that way."

"Well, he had a good reason this time. Ar-"

"There's never a good reason to be that mad at someone! Artemis didn't even do anything! _I_ was the one talking, yet everyone was just staring at Artemis"

"I understand your point, but it was your words that made everyone stare at Artemis. You said earlier that your brother told you that 'your mother is the moon'. Your brother also said that your mother had silver eyes. Both of those things describe Artemis: The silver-eyed goddess of the Moon."

"Why is Artemis being my mother such a bad thing?"

"She's not supposed to have children. Long ago she took an oath to be a maiden forever. When you have a kid, you lose your maidenhood. _That's_ why everyone is mad at Artemis, they think she broke her oath."

"And breaking her oath is such a bad thing because...?" I rolled my hand as I ended as a signal for Annabeth to explain.

"Artemis is the Goddess of Maidens. If she were to lose her maidenhood, then she would lose control of that domain and it would have to be reassigned to another goddess. Also her hunters would feel betrayed. All of the hunters took an oath to stay as eternal maidens. How do you think they would feel if the person who told them to make the oath broke that very same oath?"

That made sense in my head, but one thing didn't add up. "But then my quest is pointless. The question that I wanted answered was 'How can I find my mother?' I don't think I would be given a quest if the answer was turn around."

Annabeth looked very confused at my statement, at logic I presented was hard to argue with. She seemed slightly frustrated that she couldn't think of an answer.

Percy, surprisingly, did come up with a response. "Sometimes you got to go for the experience. My first quest was for the purpose to find the Master Bolt. However, when we showed up at Hades's palace, we had it in our possession."

"Would you have found the Master Bolt if you hadn't gone?"

"No."

"That's my point. You had to go on the quest to find the weapon, which was the purpose of the quest. If Artemis is my mother then I don't have to go on a quest to find her, because she's on _the other side of the room_. As big as this room is, the journey isn't quest worthy."

Percy laughed a little at my attempt at humor, getting the joke. Annabeth was still mulling over her thoughts, trying to think of an answer.

"But if Artemis isn't your mother, then who is?" Annabeth asked. "She's the personification of the moon. Based on what you told us, she's the only candidate."

"Don't you guys have a godly DNA test to find out who peoples parents are?"

Annabeth thought about this for a second. "Hestia, she's the goddess of family. Maybe she can help."

Percy agreed and stood up while saying that we should go back and ask. Annabeth and I agreed and we stood up as well. Annabeth grabbed her own chair while Percy grabbed the remaining two. As we walked back another question cane to my head from earlier.

"Hey Annabeth?" I asked.

"Yes Britney?"

"How do you stop being a maiden?"

"By having a baby."

I wasn't satisfied by this answer. She made it sound like if a baby was in your arms then you weren't a maiden.

"How does that happen?"

My question had unexpected results. I thought that Annabeth would give out one of her quick answers like she always does. Instead, she stopped mid-stride and dropped her chair. Percy was ahead of us and heard the chair clatter to the ground. He turned to face us with a confused look on his face. I noticed that Annabeth face was turning a bright red, which caused Percy to smile and me to giggle.

"Britney, what did you do to her?" Percy asked with a little laughter.

"I asked her 'how do you stop being a maiden?' she said 'by having a baby' and then I asked 'how does that happen'. After that she froze. I think I broke her brain."

Percy was laughing hard. "You asked her a question that she doesn't know how to answer. Hestia can answer though, you can talk to her later."

I pursed my lips in thought. _'Annabeth was a daughter of Athena. She_ always _has an answer.'_

I started skipping ahead while Percy was trying to calm down Annabeth. I faintly heard Annabeth say, "I didn't think she'd ask _that_ question."

I skipped up to where the gods were seated. It looked like all of the gods were against Artemis, even Hestia. I silently walked as close as I could without being heard. The gods were speaking in hushed tones, and I couldn't understand them.

I saw Artemis put her face in her hands before looking up and screaming, "SHE'S NOT MY DAUGHTER!"

I chose this moment to pop up from where I was crouched and looked at Artemis who's eyes went wide as she covered her mouth.

"What are you guys talking about?"

* * *

(Artemis)

Britney had just finished repeating her brother's description of Britney's mother, and I could tell that the other gods and Thalia had some questions for me. Britney was still in my arms and I watched her as she looked around at everyone. She wriggled a bit in my arms as she shifted to look at me. She smiled and I smiled back, but my heart wasn't in it. I was worried about what the other gods thought of me. They had to have noticed that I've been in my sixteen-year-old form ever since I met Britney. I can't remember the last time I changed back to a twelve-year-old.

The description Britney gave ran back through my head: Silver eyes, check; warm smile at maidens, check; hatred towards any male, check; flashing from forest to moon, check. The description matched me perfectly, but I _knew_ Britney wasn't my daughter. I'm certain of it. And as much as I would love to have a child, they wouldn't be able to grow up with me in the Hunt.

If Britney was my child, then she would be sent to camp and grow up with all of those disgusting males. She was already abused, I don't want her to stay there, and I hope that she doesn't want to stay there either. I wanted to ask her to join the Hunt on the way to Camp, but I didn't know if she was a demigod or not. Mortals, sadly, cannot join the hunt.

I was still focused on my thoughts when my father's growl interrupted the silence.

"Daughter, can you explain this?"

I stiffened and felt myself go into panic-mode. I didn't want the gods to question me about this while Britney was here. I saw Britney look at my panicked self before she turned to Zeus and defended me, again.

"Can you ask nicely?" Britney hissed with equal ferocity.

I was slightly impressed. If she was my daughter, she certainly got my ability to scare a male.

I gave her arm a small squeeze to try and calm her down. I didn't want her to get shot again. Zeus could strike her as she's on her quest.

"Hey Britney, can I talk to you for a second. I want to tell you about some Greek history before you leave. It might come in handy." The voice came from Annabeth.

I looked up to at her and gave a small smile in appreciation of her tactic to get Britney away. I felt her start to wriggle in my arms and I released her so she could leave. I watched as she went over to the other demigods and waited for the to start walking. Annabeth had already convinced Percy to accompany them, and was working on Thalia. I saw Thalia shake her head and glare at me. Annabeth noticed and shrugged, giving up.

As they three demigods walked away, I hoped that Thalia would join them. She was the one that I didn't want questioning me, but I knew that she would stay. I was her leader, and I supposedly broke the very oath that we enforce.

I couldn't meet my lieutenant's gaze, and opted to look at the wall encircling the hearth. I felt a softer gaze look at me and I lifted my head to face Britney. She gave a smile, which I returned as best as I could. I was too worried about what the others would say to me to smile full-heartedly, and Britney could tell. She knew something was bothering me, but I don't think she knew exactly what it was. As she turned away, a bit of hope left my chest. Her presence was the only thing stopping the gods' questions. And once she got far enough, Hestia would erect a barrier that would halt any sound. We could be as loud as we wanted in are impending argument, and one would know what we were saying.

I felt the barrier rise, and I mentally prepared myself for the barrage of questions.

"How is it that the description of Britney's mother matches you perfectly?" Thalia asked.

"I don't know! I'm still chaste! She's not my daughter!" I screamed.

This made everyone quiet. They weren't sure what questions to ask next. I am the goddess of chastity, I would know best about my own virginity.

Thalia was thoughtful. I could tell that she had another question, but was trying to think of how to word her question. Finally, she had it.

"Your bow."

"What?" I said, looking at Thalia.

"The day Britney led us to her house, she shot you bow. Her dad shot Elijah, then she took your bow and fired your arrow at him and sent the arrow into the other barrel of the gun to make it explode. No one could have made that shot. That was most likely Britney's first time firing a bow. Plus, she has almost no muscle mass, and your bow has the heaviest draw weight. She was starved at her house, and she fired your symbol of power more accurately than I could, while being blinded by rage and sorrow. That shouldn't be possible. Britney doesn't have your blessing, and her mother isn't Apollo. The only explanation for her incredible archery _and_ wielding your bow is for her to be your daughter."

I was stunned. I had forgotten that Britney had shot my bow. I was impressed by the shot, but I waved it off as an adrenaline rush. After all, she missed with the rock she threw five minutes later. Though hitting the door frame made it much more effective. Her wielding my bow was quite the feat. It had a draw weight of 400 pounds, the hunters was only 200.

Athena was deep in thought. "Wielding a gods symbol of power doesn't prove heritage. Luke stole Hades's helm and used it to steal Zeus's bolt. Then Percy held both when he returned them."

I looked at Athena gratefully for coming to my defense, and I thought she was on my side. Sadly, this wasn't true.

"Isn't your bow's draw weight 400 pounds?" Athena asked. "That's twice of the strongest mortal bow, which you give to your hunters."

"Yeah," Thalia agreed. "You were also in your sixteen-year-old form. You have been since we met Britney. Your bow grows to compensate for your size, and would have been bigger than Britney."

"Why are you sixteen?" Athena asked. "Aren't you normally twelve to stay as the mean age of your hunters?"

"When we first found Britney, she was hiding behind a bush at the edges of camp. I sent Thalia over to said bush and she aimed her drawn bow over the edge and yelled to sound threatening. We all heard a very shrill scream and Thalia put her bow away before calling me over and standing Britney up. I changed forms then to try and be comforting to her. It just felt right."

There was no way I was going to tell them it was because I was trying to be motherly. That would just help prove their point.

Hestia spoke next, "Did you, perhaps, change your age to be motherly? Britney was a small, crying child that was scared badly."

I tensed up. Of course the goddess of family would recognize a motherly approach. I gave a small nod as my voice failed me. Everyone except Thalia gasped.

"What if you act like a mother to Britney because part of you knows that she's your daughter?"

I spun my head to glare at Hera. "She's not my daughter." I spoke slowly and menacingly. "It's not possible for her to be my daughter. I'm. Still. Chaste."

Hera flinched at my tone. I wasn't above scaring them into agreement. Their proposal was ludicrous. No matter what they said, I was right. With all of my domains, I would know if my daughter was standing in front of me.

"And isn't Britney's quest supposed to be to find her mother?" I asked. "She wouldn't be sent on a solo quest if the answer was turn around."

I turned to Hestia, "Can you use your Family domain to perform a maternity test? That would be helpful."

Hestia smiled, "I can try. I do need Britney here as well if I want to try anything. And there is no guarantee on the validity of the results. This would be a first."

I smiled at Hestia gratefully, to which she returned a shock glance. People are so surprised when I break character. That is a decorum I put up for mortals and males, not my favorite aunt.

I looked back at the gods and Thalia. They were still against me; even Hestia thought that Britney was my daughter.

"You sure that she's not your daughter?"

I don't even know who asked the question, but I hated how they thought of me. I put my face in my hands before shaking my head and looking at the group against me.

"SHE'S NOT MY DAUGHTER!" I screamed. I saw Britney's cerulean hair appear from behind Hera. I quickly covered my mouth as I realized she was within the sound barrier.

"What are you guys talking about?" Britney asked.

"Nothing," I said a bit too quickly. "What did Annabeth teach you?"

Britney walked over and sat in my lap before pouting slightly. "She didn't teach me anything. She asked me if I knew why everyone was staring at you and explained how you're a maiden goddess and my brother's description of my mother matches you and some other stuff. But you can't be my mother, I asked Rachel how can I find my mother and if the answer was turn around, I wouldn't be given a quest that I – where I – that will -."

Britney looked at us before hanging her head sadly, "I was cut off, wasn't I."

Several gods nodded sadly and I tried to comfort Britney with a hug. She pressed herself against me and moved a bit to get comfortable.

"Where are Percy and Annabeth?" Thalia asked.

"Oh, they stopped in the middle of all of the big chairs. I asked a question that made Annabeth brake and Percy told me to go ahead."

"What did you ask Annabeth?" Athena asked, worried about her daughter's state of mind.

"I asked her 'how do you stop being a maiden?' she said 'by having a baby' and then I asked 'how does that happen'. After that she froze."

The male gods and Thalia gave nervous looks, while Athena, Hestia, and I laughed. It was funny how curious children can be.

"What did she tell you?" Hestia asked.

"Percy told me to ask you before I go back to camp. He said that you could explain it best."

Hestia nodded before asking another question.

"Britney, how did you find Artemis?"

I felt Britney tense, and I could tell she was being cautious about her words.

"I was running through the woods and saw a fire in the darkness. I hid behind a bush after I saw that the fire was surrounded by a bunch of teenage girls. I was thinking of a way to approach them before I heard someone above me yell at me and I screamed. Thalia was the one who yelled and she brought over Artemis."

"Why were you running through the woods?" Athena asked.

I felt Britney tense, even more than I did when Zeus growled at me. I saw the look of shock on the gods' faces. I couldn't see Britney's face, but I knew she was giving them the same look she gave me the first night I met her. This time, however, she answered.

"M-My brother told me to run. He pushed me out of a small window and told me to run and never look back. He said that everything would be okay, that I wouldn't be hurt anymore. But he was wrong."

"Who hurt you?" Hestia asked. I knew the answer, but kept silent. This would help Britney in the long run, even if it hurt now.

Britney started crying into her knees whilst shaking her head. She had her arms tucked in between her legs and torso. Most people wrap their arms around their legs, but she was hiding her arms. I looked at the parts of her skin that I could see. The parts that had been previously cover by her long destroyed hoodie.

She had scars _everywhere_. On her neck, on the unhidden parts of her arms, on the parts of her legs that I could see through her torn jeans. They were small scars, not very easy to see, but they left mental scars. A constant reminder of her abuse.

I looked at Zeus with pleading eyes, which is not something that I would do.

"Father, the hoodie that she was wearing a month ago, can you make another one. And make it the same size."

In most circumstances, he would have said no. But I suppose that my uncharacteristic pleading made him shocked enough to comply with out resistance. The hoodie appeared on Britney's lithe frame. She slightly uncurled to remove her arms from their hiding place as she inspected the hoodie. She seemed happier, however slight. She looked at Zeus and gave him a genuine smile, not the ones meant to mock him, but a warm, grateful smile.

Britney faced Hestia, still in a slightly defensive position, and spoke with newfound courage.

"I can't talk about it. I don't want to remember. Can't you use some magic and read my memories."

Hestia nodded and made her hand glow orange. She put her hand on Britney's forehead before asking Britney a question.

"How far back should I go?"

"As far as you can. I can't remember my mother, so you can't find that."

Hestia nodded and focused her power. She gave one last look to Britney before Britney fainted.

"Sleep well, child"

Hestia pulled her hand away as Britney fell limp into my arms. Athena looked at her suspiciously.

"What did you do to her?"

"I made her fall asleep after I copied her memories. I don't think she would want to watch all of her past horrors, she obviously can't handle it."

Athena nodded and we stared at the screen forming out of Hestia's hand. Waiting for the first images to flicker to life.

* * *

 **Done. Thanks for reading. Sorry that this took so long, but I had a lot of other things happening in reality that I don't want to bore you with. I hope that you understand the time skip. I made it to where the different questionnaires are happening simultaneously. Please let me know what you think. Oh, and the next chapter might be enough to make this story rated M.**

 **Goodbye and good luck.**

 **-B.D.S.**

 **Created June 15, 2016.**

 **Edited November 10, 2016.**


	10. The Memories

**One person has participated in the poll that I created. Either no one knew it was there, or no one cared. If you don't care, put that as your answer in the poll so I know that! Don't just leave me to guess how you feel! This genuinely concerns me. This chapter will serve as a preview of what's to come. The chapter will end right when the Rated R content begins. Please let me know in either the poll or by leaving a review on whether or not you are comfortable with the content.**

* * *

(Artemis)

The first image was just appearing when Hestia closed her hand, and was met with several shouts of disapproval.

"Hey, what did you do that for?" shouted Athena, frustrated at the lost of learning.

"I think Percy and Annabeth will want to see this." Hestia reasoned. "And based on Britney's reaction to questions about her past, know one will want to tell the story we are about to see."

Thalia nodded and ran to the center of the throne room to fetch her friends. The sound of rushing footsteps announced their arrival.

"You three," Hestia started, "will keep what you see quiet. What we are going to see obviously haunts Britney to the point where her entire state of being is altered. She has some serious PTSD and we are not going to make it worse. The purpose of this is for if Britney has an episode about her past, we can understand and comfort her. Okay?"

The trio of demigods nodded in agreement before settling down on the chairs they brought with them. Hestia reopened her palm and the image grew to the size of a 42'' television that everyone could see clearly.

 **(The memories will be shown like a movie, with everyone witnessing the past as a spectator, not in first-person. However, they will be able to feel Britney's emotions. Any reactions that the people watching have will be shown in** _ **italics**_ **.)**

* * *

(3rd person limited)

Britney woke up from her nap from the sound of her room door slamming shut. She perked up in her small bed to see Elijah, her brother, sit on the bed as he dropped his school bag.

"How was your last day of school?" Britney asked, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

"It was great! But my bag got really heavy from emptying my cubby. And it was kind of sad to leave my friends and teacher behind. Mrs. Vasquez was almost like a mother to me." Elijah's voice seemed to sadden as he spoke, but he visibly shook as if to get rid of the sadness. "Enough about that, you're five now! You can start Kindergarten when school starts again and we can go to school together. We might not see each other often, but we can say 'hi' when we do."

Britney bounced slightly on the bed and gave her brother a hug. "That will be amazing! And I can make friends like the ones you have so I'm not lonely anymore."

"Yeah," Elijah agreed, "but until then, why don't we go to the Climbing Tree? Maybe we can find some more places to play while we are there."

Britney nodded and ran to the dresser to change her clothes. They shared a four-drawer dresser. She pulled a pair of jeans out of the lowest drawer and a shirt out of the drawer above it. The clothes were worn and we slightly to big. They also looked like they were made for a boy, as if all of Britney's clothes were once Elijah's. After changing out of her sleepwear, she ran to her bed and grabbed a green hoodie that was also too big. After she changed, Elijah grabbed his play clothes out of the top two drawers to change, and grabbed a red hoodie from the other end of the bed.

" _Do they share a room? Britney has to change in front of a male?" Thalia asked in disbelief. A few others just nodded._

After they were in their play clothes, they ran out of their room towards the back door. The hallway and living room were both a mess of trash and bottles. As they ran through the living room giggling, their father woke up on the couch.

"Hey, where do you think you're going?" He asked, obviously drunk.

Britney and Elijah stopped in their tracks and slowly faced their father. Britney was filled with dread, silently hoping that their father wouldn't ruin their fun. Elijah glanced at her to signal that he would do the talking, and Britney was filled with relief. She _hated_ having to talk to their father, especially when he is drunk.

"We were going to go play outside, we changed into our play clothes." Elijah said.

"Humph." Father grunted. "All right then, before you go, grab me a beer out of the fridge and open it for me."

Elijah ran to the kitchen whilst casting a glance to his sister. Britney knew the he knew she hated being alone with Father. Elijah wanted to hurry with his task so he could return to his sister's side.

While Elijah was in the kitchen, Father reached to the ground and revealed a plastic store bag. He handed it to Britney who gingerly opened it. The only time he handed her a store bag was when she got new clothes or she had got something she had asked for, and she hadn't asked for anything since her birthday.

"What's this?" Britney asked, doing her best to hide her fear and show enthusiasm.

"I got you some new clothes. The ones you were now are too big and are for boys. These clothes will fit perfectly and are made for pretty girls like you."

Britney's hands were shaking as she opened the bag. Her father _never_ gave out compliments. She also suspected what was in the bag. Father was trying to get her to change her entire wardrobe. Instead of the loose-fitting T-shirts, hoodies, and jeans, her father was trying to get her to wear tight shirts and shorts that were too small.

She inspected the bag and pulled out a few shirts and some shorts. She recognized the style at once. Her father had bought her clothes like this before.

The shirts clung to her skin and had holes where the shoulders were. They just had a small band of cloth around her upper arm that was connected to the rest of the shirt so it was like a tank top with the shoulder straps too low. The entire shirt was frilly and had several sparkles. The entirety of the shirts had elastic so they would show off her figure, except for her abdomen. From the bottom of her rib cage down there was no cloth at all. A band of skin that made up half of her torso was completely showing, almost making her fell naked. But it was nothing compared to the shorts.

The shorts were way too small. They covered only a few _inches_ of her thighs. They also sat a little low on her waist, revealing the elastic band of her panties. If she wore boy-shorts underneath them, the bottom of those would show as well. The shorts covered the bare minimum of what was acceptable by society, and sometimes it _wasn't_ acceptable. She had been told several times by other parents in the neighborhood to go change into something more appropriate. She would tell them that her father made her wear this and she couldn't change out of her clothes. The adults would scoff and tell her to play somewhere where no one could see her. This is how she began playing in the woods with her brother.

"Well," her father said, shaking Britney from her thoughts. "How do you like your new play clothes? You can go change now while you wait for you brother to HURRY UP!"

Startled, Britney shoved, the clothes in her hand and ran to her room. Her father yelled for her to hurry and that is what she did, quickly stripping all of her clothes and finding her smallest pair of panties in hopes that they wouldn't show. She then donned the blue shirt from the bag with a pair of shorts. Sadly, her panties still showed. She eyed her hoodie and threw it back on. She liked how it cover her up, she hated showing off her skin. She only liked for her hands and face to show, and her hair covered a decent amount of her face. She could also shake the sleeves of the hoodie until they covered her hands. However, because the shirt was low enough that you couldn't see it where the hood started and the zipper ended, and the bottom of the hoodie covered her shorts, one could assume that she had no clothes on underneath. Britney regretfully removed her hoodie due to self-consciousness.

As Britney was inspecting her outfit in the mirror, her brother entered to room.

"Hey Britney, you ready?"

"I guess. Father bought me some more small clothes. I still don't understand why they are so small. The tags say that they are my size, but they barely cover me up."

Elijah was deep in thought. He then snapped his fingers as he thought of an idea. "Tie your hoodie around your waist. While we are playing, you can 'accidentally' rip your clothes, cover yourself I your hoodie, and then get your usual clothes on."

I shook my head to the idea. "They are meant to be play clothes. Father will still make me wear them if they have a few holes in them, and if we rip them too much Father will punish us for wasting his money."

Elijah's face fell. He thought his plan was good, but per usual, Britney pointed out the flaws. He took off his red hoodie and draped it over Britney's shoulders, the bottom of the fabric created a circle a little ways below her knees.

"You wear that, I know you don't like showing skin. Also, when you zip it up, some of your shirt will still show. I'll get my new hoodie out of the dresser and wear that."

As I zipped up the hoodie and moved a little in it, Elijah pulled a brand-new hoodie out of his top drawer. It was slightly big on him; it would fit him nicely in a couple years. It was also a brilliant shade of blue, I was instantly jealous.

"No fair! Why do you get my favorite color?"

"Look on the bright side sister, it'll be yours in a couple years."

I nodded and smiled. "Just don't ruin it before then."

"Okay."

We walked back out of the room and headed to the back door. Wrapping myself in my new red hoodie, I completely forgot why I was wearing it in the first place.

As I rounded to corner into the living room, the sight of my father surprised me. He looked me up and down with disapproval. He couldn't see Elijah, he was behind me and hidden by the wall.

"Daughter," Father hissed, making me freeze. "Why are you wearing that jacket? I wanted to see you in your new clothes. I bought the right size right?"

"You-you did, b-but I didn't want to be cold outside."

"Cold? It's _June_. In _California_. Why would you be cold?"

Britney stiffened. She had messed up. She forgot that her father doesn't agree with her choice of clothing. He likes for her to show off her natural beauty, she prefers to hide it. She didn't like showing off it was shameful. How could anyone enjoy wearing clothes that covered less then half of your body?

But, that wasn't the problem right now. The current problem was the person standing in front of her holding a beer bottle like a throwing knife.

Britney was frozen with fear she had seen this before.

She hastily removed her hoodie and let it fall to the ground. She instinctively covered her midriff with one arm and covered part of her legs with her other arm. Her cheeks were stained with a tinge of red. Being this revealing was embarrassing for Britney. Several small scars showed on her skin, dotting her arms, legs, and torso. Most were small cuts that didn't receive treatment; others were much larger, as if she was slashed at. From Elijah's view, he could see the scars that laced her back. Her shirt covered part of it, but her lower back was the worst of it.

Britney's lower back was covered in lacerations, as if she was whipped many times over. It only has happened once, Elijah made sure it never happened again by taking twice the punishment that was meant for her. Now that it was summer, he could be with Britney at all times to protect her. He was already making plans to do so now, the only problem was that his father was out of sight. Elijah wouldn't know when to pull Britney back, but he would try anyway.

"You look better out of that ridiculous hoodie _daughter_ , but, alas, you disobeyed me. And now you shall be punished."

With the last words, Father threw the bottle at the wall by Britney's stomach. Even when he's drunk, he was an amazing shot. He wanted for the shards of the bottle to cut her stomach. It would hurt, but wouldn't kill. The shards wouldn't be big enough for that. Her clothes might get torn, though. But he would make her wear the clothes anyway. She would have to get used less in a few years, why not start now.

The beer bottle smashed against the wall, and Elijah managed to get Britney out of the way, but not unscathed. Several shards scrapped her arms, as they were covering her stomach and legs. Britney collapsed into Elijah's arms as he dragged her back to their room.

She recovered from her shock and managed to pull herself onto the bed. She was staring at her arms as she watched her blood bead up and run down her arms, creating small red streams webbing down to her hands.

"Britney, give me your arms."

Britney looked up to see Elijah standing over her with a Med-kit. She held out her arms and tried not to wince as he wiped off the blood. He wrapped her arms in gauze from her elbow to her wrist.

"Okay, that will do for now. Keep those on for the rest of the day, at night you should be all better."

Britney jumped of the bed and gave Elijah a massive hug.

"Thank you, brother, for helping me. I'm sorry that I had to cause you this trouble. Now Father is mad, we probably can't go out and play like we wanted to, and I got your side of the bed all bloody, and I lost the hoodie you just gave me!"

Britney ended with tears in her eyes. She was always grateful for the things that Elijah would do for her, but she was never able to repay him. She only caused more trouble.

"Hey, it alright." Britney slowed her crying and looked to Elijah, who was now next to her where she collapsed onto the floor in sorrow. "We can go play at night while Father is asleep, and I can wash the bed before then. And the hoodie..." Elijah lifted the red hoodie from behind him, "...is right here."

Britney's eyes widened and her tears stopped as he gazed at the red cloth. She grabbed the hoodie and hugged it before putting it on and zipping it shut. She looked down at the sleeves and smiled, she never liked the sight of her scars they left more than just a physical mark. A bit of gauze was showing from under her hoodie, and she frowned. Britney shook her arms until the entirety of her arms and hands were covered by the hoodie.

"Thank you."

Elijah smiled down at Britney whist stroking her hair to comfort her. Britney curled up on the floor with her head in Elijah's lap before falling asleep.

.oOo.

That night, Britney woke from the moon shining through the window. She sat up and looked at her surroundings, confused. She was still in her red hoodie, and she could feel the fabric of the shirt and skirt on her skin. She woke up on her newly cleaned bed when she clearly remembered falling asleep on the floor. Elijah was sorting through his school bag and switching out his schoolbooks for what he called his 'Play Kit'.

The Play Kit was a bunch of different items that Elijah would store in his bag and carry with him while they played outside. Some items were rotated through the bag based on what he needed to set up each activity that he planed, and other items that stayed in the bag for things that Britney wanted to do each time they went to play.

"Hey, why am I on the bed?"

"I moved you there after I finished washing the bed. I used my hoodie as a pillow for you while you slept on the floor so you were comfortable."

"Is Father asleep?"

"Yes. Or at least he was when I washed the sheets."

Britney looked slightly scared at this. Elijah turned and noticed this before running with his Play Kit on his back and swamped Britney in a hug.

"Hey, don't be scared. I'll be in front this time and check if he is awake or not. If we're lucky, he might even be in his room."

Britney pulled out of the hug and stared at her brother with a look that read 'Are you _that_ stupid' until Elijah broke eye contact.

"Is that too much to hope for?" Elijah asked sheepishly.

"Yes, yes it is."

"Well let's go now before we lose too much moonlight. It's a full moon tonight, but since it's summer, the moon won't be out long."

Britney nodded and the two of them snuck out of the house without incident.

.oOo.

The two played in the forest until dawn, most of their time spent in the Climbing Tree. They would always try to climb higher than the other, and would use a small pocketknife that Elijah found to carve the date and first initial of each attempt into the trunk of the tree. Currently Britney surpasses Elijah by a yard, her best and most recent attempt reaching past the halfway point on the massive tree. Elijah said that one day they would measure the tree's height and find out exactly how far they were from the ground.

As they were perched in the tree, dawn broke and they both watched the sunrise in silence, until a beeping noise broke it.

"Britney?"

"Yeah?"

"This alarm goes off five minutes before Father wakes up."

"Crap."

The siblings quickly climbed down the tree, both of them jumping the last few feet, and ran as quickly as possible. Elijah always stayed a few steps behind Britney so he could make sure that he didn't lose her, but today he was too impatient. He ran to where he was about to over take Britney before scooping her of her feet and running at full speed while carrying his sister.

Britney had been startled by the sudden change in terrain, going from the soft earth to her brother's arms, but she didn't mind. Her energy always seemed to drain during the day, and she was _very_ tired. The adrenaline from Elijah's watch had worn off, but it was strengthened in Elijah. He wanted to get Britney home before Father woke and punished them. Elijah would try to take the punishment for both of them, but Father was already mad at them. Britney might still be punished for their escapade.

They made it to their bedroom window and Elijah set Britney down to open the window. The screen was slashed long ago, so once the glass was moved Elijah could squeeze Britney through and she could act like she was sleeping.

"Here," Elijah started. "I'll boost you through the window and you climb into bed. I'll go around to the backdoor and sneak through. If I get caught, I'll just act sleepy and say that I got a glass of water."

Britney wanted to argue, she hated when Elijah sacrificed himself for her sake. But after she got punished once, Elijah vowed for it to never happen again.

Britney reluctantly agreed and fit slid through the window to the floor below. Elijah passed the Play Kit through the window so he wouldn't be caught with it. Britney quietly put the Play Kit by Elijah's desk and took off her hoodie. As mush as she enjoyed wearing it, she wouldn't take the risk of sleeping with it on and getting it soaked with drool. She opened the room door so Elijah could walk in with out having to open it, and slipped into the covers. She waited for her brother to walk through the door and hoped that Father wouldn't spot him. A shadow crossed over the doorway and started to enter the room. Britney shut her eyes and held her breath, not sure who it was and preparing for the worst whilst hoping for the best.

"Hey, move over Britney," Elijah's voice sounded through the darkness. "You're taking all the room."

Britney shifted until she was on her side of the bed. Elijah crawled in and wrapped Britney in his arms.

"I thought that you were Father."

"Well I'm not. Goodnight sister."

"Good _morning_ Brother."

Elijah laughed a little before, exhausted, the two fell asleep.

.oOo.

The rest of the summer went well. The siblings play outside every night, and made sure to be back in bed _before_ Elijah's alarm had gone off. They were unknowingly lucky that day; Father had forgot to set his alarm and hadn't woken until several hours after Britney and Elijah fell asleep.

Father hardly yelled at them, for he wasn't around much. Father spent most of his time with his friends, some nights he wouldn't return home, but he kept his children fed. He would always return with a pizza or some take out from a random burger joint, but Britney wouldn't get nearly as much as Elijah. Father said it was because she had to 'maintain her figure' and eating too much would ruin that.

Elijah thought it was stupid, with only one meal and some snacks a day, coupled with all of the playing they did, Britney need the sustenance. For most meals, Elijah would 'save' some food for later and give it to Britney the first chance he got, usually when they went to play for the night.

There were only a few times when Father yelled at them, and it was always because of Britney. Mostly it was about Britney trying to dress modestly, but there was one time when Britney got yelled at that was not about her attire, but rather about school.

In the last week of summer, Father would take Elijah and Britney to the mall for Elijah's school shopping. The siblings were especially excited because for once Britney would need her own school supplies. When they arrived at the store, they ran to the stand with the supply list for each school. They found the ones for second-graders and kindergartners and returned to Father with their lists. Elijah handed him both lists and waited as Father looked them over.

"Take this back," Father ordered, handing one list back to Elijah as he stared at the other.

Britney looked at the list being held towards her brother and was shocked when she saw it was hers. Maybe she got the wrong one, but she doubted it considering Father never even looked at it.

"Why?" Elijah asked, scared that he might get yelled at.

"Because I don't need it."

"But I need school stuff. I start kindergarten when summer's over."

Father turned to look at Britney as she covered he mouth after her outburst. She was certain that Father would punish her when they got back home, at least if he decided to wait until then.

"You don't need anything for school. You're going to be home schooled, and when you aren't working, you're going to be training."

"Training for what?"

"For your future."

The rest of shopping was depressing. Elijah would normally be excited at the idea of new things bought for him, but when realizing that Britney would get nothing, he was saddened heavily. Britney was even worse. All of Elijah's stories of school, and all of the hopes she had of how her first day would go, they were all crushed by her Father's plans. She would stay home, not able to leave, not able to make friends, and not able to have fun. When they finished shopping, they returned to their dreary home, a place Britney had hoped to be free of. Elijah and Britney were tasked to bring in the school supplies and took the time to talk while bringing the numerous bags into the house.

"I can't believe that you're going to be home schooled!" Elijah almost shouted. "I was hoping that you would go with me for once."

"I was too. Now I'm stuck here, and I still don't know what this whole 'training' thing is supposed to be. I thought _school_ was supposed to prepare you for the future."

"Yeah, that is weird, but it might be fun."

"Anything with Father is not fun, not to mention all this time with him is going to make me easier to punish."

Britney stopped in her tracks as the words replayed in her mind, triggering memories of her first and only punishment fresh in her mind.

" _What's wrong with image Hestia?" Athena asked._

" _Her memories are showing us a memory." Hestia answered. "Don't ask, just watch."_

* * *

(Flashback)

Britney's Father stormed into her room while she and Elijah were playing cards.

"Did you do this girl?" Father said, holding a recently broken beer bottle.

Britney paled, she was supposed to bring in a pack of beer from her father's to the fridge. On the way, one fell and broke in the garage. Britney had tried to hide the wreckage, but apparently failed.

"Y-Yes, I did. One fell as I was carrying it."

Father walked over to her and lifted her cowering form by her neck, choking her as he did.

"You deserve to be punished!" Father bellowed into her face before, still holding her by the neck, walked to his room and threw her on the bed.

Britney curled into a ball, trying to cover herself as much as possible. Her hoodie was on the floor in her room, she had been using it to sit on while she played cards, and she desperately wanted to feel its comforting fabric covering her skin.

She looked at Father to see him looking for something in his closet. He turned around holding a whip with a metal coating over the last six inches. The metal was glimmering in the dim sunlight that filtered through the tattered curtains, as if it was never used. Britney saw a faint glow of crimson, and looked behind Father to see another whip with the metal stained red.

Father saw her gaze shift and took a guess at what she was looking at. "Your brother gets punished an awful lot, but this will be your first."

Father lashed the whip at the closest wall, effectively making the dry wall spray away from the newly created hole. Britney curled up as tight as she could, hoping that she could get so small that she'd vanish.

The first strike made all of her thoughts vanish and her attention focus solely on the immense pain flooding through her back. She screamed as loudly as she could, partly because she wanted someone to help her, mostly from the pain.

Unfortunately for Britney, the outer walls of the house were completely sound proof. Unfortunately for Elijah, the inner walls were not. He could hear each crack of the whip and the re-energized screams of Britney as she was struck again and again. Elijah was curled on his bed with Britney's hoodie clutched in his arms, and he had two dominating thoughts in his head.

The first was that it was Britney he wanted in his arms, not her hoodie. The second, and more dominating thought, was that, so long as Elijah could prevent it, Britney would _never_ scream that way again.

(End Flashback)

* * *

Britney snapped back to reality and saw that she was on her bed. Elijah was next to her and was stroking her hair.

"What happened?"

"You completely froze," Elijah answered. "I sat you down in the garage and finished unloading the car, then I brought you here and waited for you to calm down."

"What did I do?"

"You were frozen, hardly moved at all. Usually you were stiff and were just cringing on the floor, but whenever I touched you, you went limp. If you hadn't, I don't think I could have carried you."

Britney just lied down with her head on Elijah's lap. She saw the silver moon through the parted curtains and smiled before falling asleep with Elijah stroking her hair.

.oOo.

The first day of school had arrived, and neither of the siblings was excited. Today would be the first of many days where Elijah and Britney would be separated for a good chunk of the day. And although this had happened for the last two years, this would be different.

Then, Father just slept or worked in his office, paying no mind to Britney. Now, Britney was the sole interest of Father, he had already showed enthusiasm at Britney's 'training'.

The siblings said their goodbyes and Elijah headed for the bus stop, giving Britney one last look of encouragement before turning the corner and heading out of sight. Britney turned to face her Father who was standing at the doorway, and could only manage a weak smile. Father replied with a jerk of his head before heading inside.

Britney walked through the door and shut it behind her, wondering when Elijah would return to open it again. She walked into the living room to find Father standing there with his evil grin.

"Today, my daughter, we will start your training. And it will start with you taking off that stupid piece of trash you insist on wearing!"

Britney gulped and knew she was in for a long year.

* * *

 **I'm not dead. Sorry for taking so long to update. I have had a lot of things to deal with here, but I wont bore you with the details. Please participate in the poll on my profile page; I need to know how you all feel before updating again. The content may not start bad, but it will get worse. This 'training' will last for three years, and I need to know if you are okay reading it. Sorry again for not updating, it shouldn't happen again... until school starts. Thanks for reading.**

 **Goodbye and good luck.**

 **-B.D.S.**

 **Created July 10, 2016.**

 **Edited November 10, 2016.**


	11. The Learning

**So the general consensus is that you are okay with everything except sex. Random side note, I said that Britney was still a maiden when Artemis finds her,** _ **3 years from now**_ **. So sex was never going to be a thing. Britney does have 3 years of hell to face though, that won't change.**

* * *

(Memories)

Britney slowly removed her hoodie and wrapped her arms around her chest as the hoodie fell to the floor. Father just smiled.

"Good. Now, I won't explain what you're training for until you get a bit older. Just do as you're told and everything will be fine."

Britney nodded, arguing would result in punishment so she only had that one option.

"Okay, I'm only going to ask a few things of you so don't complain and just listen. First, you can only wear your hoodie when you're outside and it's either dark or below 70˚ F. (21˚ C, 294˚ K) If you are inside, or out during the day it stays off. Second, I will put sticky notes on the covers of each of your work books with all of your assignments for the week. You have from Monday morning when Elijah leaves to Friday evening when he returns. On Friday, your workbooks should be back on the table ready for me to grade and give you next week's assignments. You can spread out the work over the five days or you can do it all in one, but if you have work then do it. You have five subjects to work on and I expect at least one done each day."

I looked to the table and saw my five workbooks stacked there. I had one for Math, Language, Science, History, and Spelling.

"Thirdly," Father's voice made me snap back to attention. "You are still responsible for your own lunch. Just clean any mess you make and either eat all that you make or specifically label it for tomorrow. But you know this already. Lastly, each night when you change into your nightgown, put tomorrow's outfit on the table. It will be on there for you the next day."

Britney frowned at the last task, it didn't make sense. She knew he hated it when she wore jeans and a hoodie, but this was new. She never had to lay out her clothes before. If she had a wardrobe malfunction, like a shirt that was too tight, then she would have to deal with it.

Father noticed the frown and glared at Britney. "Is there a problem?"

"N-N-No! I thought the last request was a little strange, but there is no problem."

"Good, now get started on your work. I don't care where you work as long as it gets done." Father threw that last few words over his shoulder before walking to his room to complete his own work, although Britney wasn't sure about what his work was. She had never worked up the courage to ask.

Britney climbed the chair closest to the pile of workbooks to get a better look at them. She wanted to work on them in her room because it was comfortable there, but moving them might prove to be a problem. She looked around the room for something that could help her, and her eyes settled on her red hoodie.

Britney slid the books from the table to the ground and winced at the noise that it caused. She got off the chair and started to inspect each book for damage before stacking them on the inside pulling it by the sleeves all the way to her room.

Britney closed the door and undid her makeshift sled. She looked at each book before settling on Math. She opened the book and saw a sticky note on the inside cover.

 _Complete the first five pages.  
If you need help, ask Elijah._

Britney thought her father's logic was ridiculous, what if she had done this one on Friday, she would have been screwed.

Britney sighed in disappointment as she looked around her room. She had hoped to be in a classroom filled with people she could talk to, not on her bedroom floor alone.

She laid down with the workbook in front of her and started on the first page. It was about patterns. The instructions were simple and the example was helpful, honestly the hardest part was finding a pencil from Elijah's desk.

The patterns started simple, like alternating circles and squares, and got harder with each page. There were more shapes to a pattern, or shapes appearing twice in a row, but it was simple overall. Britney was done in less than thirty minutes.

Britney looked over at the other workbooks had an internal debate about whether or not to try and complete another topic. She liked the cover of the science workbook and went with that one. She checked the inside cover to find another sticky note with the same message. Britney glanced over at the other workbooks and found that they had the same message. Each assignment was to complete five pages. The first set took half an hour; Britney could finish a week's worth of homework before lunch!

Britney opened her science book to the first page and read the assignment. It was about matter, but she didn't care. She just read the instructions and worked out each problem. And it wasn't hard. All she had to do was look at a picture of a chair, or a puddle, or someone's interpretation of how something invisible should be drawn (gas), and write below it what state of matter it was, solid, liquid, or gas.

Britney completed five pages on matter and still didn't know the definition of the word. Sure the book said what it was before the first instructions, but if it wasn't instructions, she didn't care.

She went through two more books within the hour and barely remembered what she did.

Her English book's first five pages were about parts of speech; each page was a different part.

Her Social Studies book's first five pages talked about the discovery of America and how this Christopher guy found it. But that didn't make sense to Britney. People were already there, they had already explored the land, the land was already _found_ and so it was already discovered. Christopher was just the first one from Europe to find it.

All at once, Britney's thoughts went running rampant. She mulled over the thoughts she just had, and if other people had realized it, and if they did why were they teaching it in school?

Her thought started escaping her until it all focused on one point, school, and the fact that she wasn't there.

Britney's sorrow came back to her, she should be learning in a classroom from a teacher, not on her floor from a book. She felt herself start to cry and closed her completed Social Studies book before it got wet. She crawled over to her bed and started to get in it before stopping.

She had five more pages to complete. She couldn't quit now.

Britney dried her tears before crawling back over to her Spelling book. She opened it to the first page and found something different. There was only one set of instructions for the entire book. Basically, there was a word written on a line, and Britney had to write that word along the line four times. Britney got through five pages in ten minutes and then took her well-deserved nap.

* * *

(Artemis)

Once the memory Britney fell asleep, the picture started looking weird again.

"Hey, Lady Hestia, we're not going to see her dreams, are we?" asked Percy.

"No," Hestia answered. "I'm just skipping her nap."

"Hey, I got a question." I looked over to my lieutenant to see a some-what pissed off look.

"How did she just complete 25 pages of work in an hour and a half. She's a demigod, she shouldn't have been able to read most off that. Plus, she is five, how is she able to read anything at all?"

"Yeah," Annabeth agreed. "And she did all of her work in one sitting., except for that short break where she started crying. But that was less than a minute. Shouldn't she have ADHD?"

I was startled for a second and found myself clueless. I knew that most demigods had dyslexia, ADHD, or both; but not having either was rare.

I stared in awe at the sleeping form of Britney that was still in my arms. I moved one of my hands to stroke her hair and she nestled tighter against me, causing me to smile. In that moment all of my attention was focused on Britney. I heard bits of the conversation, Frank Zhang was mentioned, but I was focused on Britney.

I recalled the peculiar thing that she told the council earlier, about how her mother was the moon. Part of me wished I was her mother, a feeling that surprised me for a second. Sure I felt motherly to the Hunt, but I still kept that boundary of Leader and Follower intact. The younger girls of the hunt looked to the older girls for motherly love, not me.

I remembered when we first met, how I changed into a 16-year-old when she arrived. I'd never done that before. I was _always_ twelve, yet now I find myself still in my older form.

I thought back again to what Britney said. If her mother was the moon, then there are two possibilities: Selene; the Titaness of the moon, and myself. However, neither is possible. I would know if I had a child. I watched my mother give birth to Apollo, I saw the pain she was in. I wouldn't have forgotten if it were _me_ giving birth. And Selene faded at the start of the Roman empire. Diana, my other half, replaced her as the driver of the moon chariot and she was forgotten. Neither of us could have had a daughter.

"Hey, Artemis! Are you even listening?"

The voice shook me from my thoughts. I looked up to see everyone staring at me holding on to Britney.

"What do you guys want?" I asked.

"We wanted to know what you thought about Britney's apparent lack of ADHD and dyslexia," Athena answered with an annoyed tone. "If she lacks these, how could she survive? ADHD is a demigod's battle reflexes, and the dyslexia helps with ancient Greek. She could die in her first scuffle or not be able to solve a puzzle."

My eyes widened at the thought of her death, and I found myself subconsciously clutching Britney even tighter. An action that did not go unnoticed.

"Milady, you're crushing her, please stop."

I looked from Thalia to Britney and loosened my grip on her.

"I'm sorry," I replied. "I just got worried for a second there."

Everyone stared at me after I said that. Britney has made me so uncharacteristic since I met her.

"C-Can we continue?" I asked, looking at Hestia.

Hestia nodded but Athena wouldn't let me off the hook.

"You didn't answer my question, sister. What do you think about- "

"She'll be harder to train!" I snapped, causing Athena to flinch. "If she has no ADHD then she has no battle reflexes. We'll have to work harder to train her. And without her dyslexia she can't naturally read Ancient Greek."

I ended with one of my signature glares aimed at Athena and she returned it, although it wasn't as intimidating.

Hestia just did that weird smile when she sees us fight. The fighting doesn't seem to disappoint her. It's like she _knows_ that we will reconcile later.

The image resumed and I gave one last look at Britney before gazing at her memories.

* * *

(Memories)

Britney woke from the door opening. She sat up to see her brother's face before rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

"Hey, brother, how was your first day."

"It was fun! It was an easy day because it was mostly rules and stuff. My teacher is really nice and this is her first year as a teacher so we're her first class _ever!_ She took us on a tour of the school and all of the new things that we will do as second graders, and told us a few stories. We call her Ms. Selena because she says her last name is hard to pronounce."

Britney was smiling as her brother talked ecstatically, but one look at her eyes and Elijah could see the sorrow that Britney couldn't hide. He stopped and sat on the end of the bed and looked at his sister.

"Hey, what's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong. I'm happy you're back."

"No, something's wrong with you. Tell what it is and maybe I can fix it."

Britney shook her head in despair. "The problem is staying here. I wanted to go to school and have fun and learn stuff, but I'm stuck here with twenty-five pages of work for the week that I can finish in a couple hours on the first day of the week."

Elijah looked confused so Britney got off the bed in search of a sticky note that was lying on the ground.

"Here, read this." Britney said while handing her brother the note.

"And this is for each book?"

Britney nodded and gestured at the workbooks strewn across the floor.

"Well this says that I'm supposed to help you when I get home, so why don't I go over your work while you tell me about your day."

Britney started with the rules that Father gave her. Elijah just listened calmly as Britney described her day and didn't talk until she was done.

"Well that's strange," Elijah announced. "For your first time ever doing school work you got everything right."

"Really, after all of what I said _that's_ all you have to say!"

"Well it's not hard to notice that Father hates it when you wear your hoodie, so his first rule should have been expected. Making your own food is nothing new, and Father telling you to do your work is reasonable. He tells me the same thing when I have homework to do. The only thing that is strange is putting your clothes on the table at night, why do you think he wants you to do that?"

Britney shrugged and looked down at the carpet, "I wish I knew. I should probably put some of the clothes he got me a few months ago on the table tonight, though. I don't want him to get mad at me."

"You weren't punished today, were you?"

"I would have told you something like that."

"Just checking."

"Whatever. Do you have any homework?"

"No, why?"

"Because I want to go play outside."

"Okay, but if we wait until it gets dark you can wear your hoodie."

Britney looked out the window to see the sun slowly sinking in the sky. It looked like there were a couple of hours of sunlight left.

"Okay, we'll wait. But I kind of slept through lunch and I'm really hungry, can you go make me a sandwich?"

Elijah left on his task and returned a little while later with a sandwich in hand. Said sandwich was devoured in a few bites.

.oOo.

When the sky darkened, the siblings went outside and played in the silver light of the moon. They spent hours playing games and Elijah told more stories about his day at school. As they went back inside, Elijah said a disheartening statement.

"Hey, Britney?"

"What's up?"

"We aren't going to be able to play on school nights anymore."

Britney sighed, "I know, tonight was fun, though. And we can play on weekends when you don't have homework."

Elijah still looked sad, "Britney, there might not be any open weekends. Last year there were barely any, and this year will be even harder."

Britney was downright depressed at that. The only time she could play with her brother was on school breaks, and he always had projects for those.

"Hey," Elijah's voice made Britney look up at him. "Why don't you try to make some friends here? I'm sure there's someone you can play with."

"Everyone that's my age probably goes to school, and you know I can't just walk up to a house and knock on the door."

"Yeah, you are really shy."

"I'm fine at home. I'll find something to do, don't worry.

"Okay, if you say so."

"You're darn it's how I say so," Britney said smugly.

Elijah just laughed. It wasn't a laugh she heard often, and she was always happy to hear it.

The two went inside and fell asleep, exhausted.

.oOo.

Britney woke from loud yelling coming from the living room. She looked at the alarm clock to find that it was… did that say five _p.m._? Britney rushed out of bed to the dining room to grab her clothes for the day. She had lain out an outfit before she went out the previous night. Britney grabbed her clothes and changed into them as quick as she could. She had lain out one of the outfits she had gotten at the beginning of summer and threw it on so fast that she almost ripped the fabric.

"ADMIT THAT YOU DID IT FOR HER!"

That was definitely Father.

"But I didn't! She was done before I got home. I checked her work and it was perfect."

"YOU'RE LYING! SHE'S FIVE! HER _HANDWRITING_ SHOULDN'T BE THIS GOOD, BUT IT'S BETTER THAN YOURS!"

"H-Hey," Britney stammered, slowly walking out from behind the wall. "Are you talking about me."

Father ripped his gaze from his son and sent it towards his daughter. "As a matter of fact we are. Your brother showed me your workbooks and tried to convince me that you're too smart to be home schooled. That attending public school would be better for you. However, he made a mistake. The first assignment was completed in one day, and was done with excellent penmanship. Obviously, he is trying to do the work for you, am I right?"

"N-No, you're wrong. I did it all myself."

Father's gaze darkened and made Britney shrink to the floor. "Really? Is that so? Explain to me daughter, how is it that you already know the material in the books? You never had any schooling before now."

"Actually, I did."

"YOU DID WHAT?!"

"I taught myself."

Tears of fear were rolling down her cheeks. Father had slowly been walking towards her and was now staring straight down at Britney.

" _How_?" Father said this slowly with venom dripping from the single word. It was scarier than the yelling.

"Um w-when Elijah brought home his papers from school, I would take then and see what he did and I used the papers to teach myself."

Elijah looked astonished to hear that he was at fault for this but Father just looked pissed.

"HOW DARE YOU! IF YOU LEARNED ALL OF THIS ALREADY, THEN I EXPECT IT ALL TO BE DONE BY THE END OF THE WEEK!

Britney flinched at the yelling and nodded furiously. Father gave one last glare at the siblings before storming of to his room. Britney started gathering her workbooks to take them back to her room, but Elijah stopped her.

"Britney, did you really do that?"

Britney stopped what she was doing and turned to face her brother.

"Yes, I did."

"Why?"

"I was bored, there is nothing to do here while you are gone. And I didn't expect to be home schooled. I was just thinking that if I learned from your work and saw what was right and wrong that it would be easier when I got into school."

"Well, hopefully you can get all of that done in time."

Britney just smiled, "At least I have something to do for the rest of the week."

"You do realize that this calls for a lot more effort than you think right?"

"I can handle it."

Elijah just looked at her.

"I can do it! Watch, I'll have two workbooks done by the time you get back tomorrow."

"We'll see."

.oOo.

Britney actually got both the Math and Spelling workbooks done by the time Elijah returned from school. She had also completed half of the English workbook as well.

"Dang, Britney! I seriously doubted your abilities."

"Yep, and if I do the same amount tomorrow, then I can use Friday to go over my answers."

"Well, good luck. I have some homework to do, so I should get started on that."

"What's your homework?" Britney asked while stacking her workbooks along the wall.

"Oh, it's these 'About Me' worksheets. Tomorrow and Friday we will be presenting them."

"Hmm, sounds nice. What's on the worksheet."

"Questions about me, my family, stuff like that."

"Okay, I'll leave you to that. I'm gonna take a nap, wake me for dinner, 'Kay."

"Sure. Go to sleep and rest your brain, it needs it."

Britney smiled and went to sleep.

* * *

(Annabeth)

"Okay," Percy said once Lady Hestia started fast-forwarding through the memories. "How is she doing that much work in that little time. I understand that we think that she doesn't have ADHD or dyslexia, but she's should have the attention span of a five-year-old, right?"

"Aww, is Percy sad that a little girl is smarter than him?" Thalia teased.

"I'm used to that already, unless you're admitting that I'm smarter than you?"

"What? I'm like five years older than you."

"Really, because you look like you're eight years _younger_ than me."

"I only look that way because I'm a hunter, and it's not like aging did you any good."

I placed a hand on Percy's shoulder to stop him.

"Enough," I commanded. "Besides, you lost, Percy."

Percy just sighed and leaned back in his chair.

"My original question still stands, though." Percy said. "She has an attention span that rivals the Athena cabin when we start to build something new."

"Well that obvious." I started, but stopped when I realized that my mother spoke at the same time. I looked over at her and saw that she was a little upset at being cut-off.

"Mom, let me have this." I pleaded. "Besides, he's my boyfriend and you get to tell off the gods without being vaporized."

My mother nodded and lent back in her chair and waved at me to explain.

"Percy, she is so bored that to her, the workbooks are a blessing. She likes having something to do. She enjoys working in those books so much that she can literally sit there for hours working."

Percy was satisfied with the answer and kept his mouth shut. My mother looked at me approvingly to show that she had reached the same conclusion.

"I'm going to start the memories again." Lady Hestia announced.

"Okay, from where?" Thalia asked.

"I'm starting on that Saturday when she gets her workbooks back."

We all stared at the image, waiting for it to start, but Lad Hestia had more to say.

"Oh, before it's too late, I'm going to have to take Britney from you, Artemis,"

"What? Why?" Artemis asked while holding Britney even closer.

"Because what you're going to see will make you crush the life out of her, and I can't have that now can I?"

We all went wide-eyed at Lady Hestia's comment, and Lady Artemis gave a long, scared look at Britney before handing her over to the hearth goddess. We all turned back to the 'screen' as it started up again.

* * *

(Memories)

Father walked up to Britney with a blank face. He was holding the workbooks and slammed then onto the table in front of where Britney was eating.

"Well, daughter, it looks like you completed everything perfectly. You seem heart-set on learning so I have decided that I will make a wager with you. If I win, then I will see about getting you workbooks for higher grades. If you win, then you will go to school with Elijah. I talked to them on the phone and they said if you were to go there, that they will have you take a placement test to see what grade they should put you in. Also, the rules I gave you Monday will be out of effect. You will be able to wear whatever you want. Do we have a deal?"

Britney started to answer but was interrupted by Elijah's entrance.

"Hey, I'm ho-. What's going on?"

"Father's going to make a bet with me and if I win I get to go to school with you."

"Do we have a deal?" Father asked impatiently.

"Yes, we do."

"Good," Father smiled his evil grin before lifting Britney out of her chair by her neck. "Get ready for the whipping of your life little one, because this will make last time feel like a pat on the back."

* * *

 **I'm done. This took forever, but you guys already knew that. Marching Band started in July and the computer I'm using now has a terrible keyboard. It constantly misses the keystrokes I input so letters are constantly missing and I have to go back and fix it all. Also I want to know what you think about the gamble Britney agreed to. Do you think she could win? I like hearing you input on things so let me know. Also, in case it was unclear, the memories are viewed as a movie, which is why it is in third person. Anyway, it's past midnight as I write this, so I'm going to post this then fall asleep. Thank for reading.**

 **Goodbye and good luck.**

 **-B.D.S.**

 **Created August 5, 2016.**

 **Edited November 10, 2016.**


	12. The School

**Hopefully this doesn't take as long as last time. Also this chapter might feel a bit rushed. But that is because I realized after writing the last chapter, I only got through three months out of three years. I still have 33 more months left. However only six of them are important, so I'm not going to pay much attention to the other 27.**

* * *

(Memories)

Father carried Britney to his room by her neck and threw her onto the bed face-down. He left the door open and Elijah stood there, watching, and unable to help.

"Here's how this is going to work: If you make a sound, I win. If you keep your mouth shut, you win. Deal?"

Britney nodded, just in case it had already started. Father cracked the whip against the wall and watched as Britney tried not to flinch. He took a long, dramatic pause as he readied the whip for the first blow in months.

"Good luck," Father chucked in his special, vile way before sending the first strike onto Britney's back ripping both shirt and skin.

Britney's back arched as she stiffened in pain from the blow, but she made no sound, her lips sealed shut. Father gave a low growl and struck harder and faster, watching Britney jolt from each lash as she endured the pain. Her eyes locked with Elijah's and he saw all of the pain, along with all of her determination. Britney was always stubborn, and this was no different.

Father started getting mad. He had expected it to be an easy win, for her only other whipping started with her screaming from the first strike. But Britney held on, and that only made things worse. Blinded by rage, Father started to miss her back on occasion. Instead, her arms suffered the blows and the sheets beside her turned to shreds, exposing the worn mattress underneath.

Father lashed the back of Britney's neck, causing her head to snap back and her eyes to screw shut. The pain was so much that she barely heard her father mutter "two more" before he spread her legs with his free hand. Britney's eyes flashed open in terror as she felt her legs slide along the sheets. She wanted to close her legs, but also didn't want to lose. She cast one look at her brother before she felt the pain.

Father had skillfully whipped her inner thigh on both legs, making the girl on the receiving end grasp at the worn sheets and threatened to rip them more. Father sighed in defeat and threw the whip on the bed next to Britney before leaning back on the wall. Britney kept her breathing steady while she held back any gasps or tears, not wanting to show weakness. Her legs were shivering as the newly drawn blood trickled down them and pooled on the bed. The same happened by her arms and around her torso as the blood rolled of her and colored the sheets crimson.

Elijah approached Britney in horror. He looked at his sister and the bloody mess that was her back. He was stunned into silence, and only the sound of Britney's voice bought him back to reality.

"Hey, could you-" That was all Britney could manage before she passed out from both the pain and the blood loss. She felt the warm embrace of her brother and him whispering for her to hold on before she slipped into a deep slumber.

.oOo.

The school year went by fast, and Britney enjoyed every second of it. Her Father had bought her school supplies while she had been recovering, and she loved them. She was surprised to find that her supplies weren't riddled with sparkles or things of that nature, but were instead just plain, solid colors. She asked her Father about this and he just said that she won. Britney accepted this answer and went about her day.

The school was marvelous, Britney adored the change of scenery. The school councilor asked Britney if she wanted to take a placement test considering that she knew everything that kindergarten had to offer, but Britney refused. She said that there still might be something that she missed, and she wanted to be with people her own age. Britney was introduced to her teacher before school started and found her to be very nice. The same, however, could not be said about her classmates. They questioned her about why she started a week late but her brother started on time. She made up a story about her being sick, but no one bought it. Britney would never talk about what she had to go through in order to go to school.

Britney was also questioned about her unusual hair and eye color. Usually it was honest curiosity, but there would be the occasional jerk that would taunt her about it. It was one of these very situations that resulted in the utter halt in taunts against Britney, a new reputation for Britney, and a small amount of respect from her father. It all happened during recess midway through September.

.oOo.

Britney was playing with two other girls in a small open space on the playground. They were just passing a basketball around to each other, but the Johnson Brothers interrupted and stole the ball. The Johnson Brothers are triplets, named Mark, Mathew, and Max, and are also in the fifth grade.

At this school, the grad levels are paired up for both recess and lunch. First and second grade are together, third and fourth are together, and kindergarten and fifth are together. The school paired the youngest grade with the oldest grade with the thought in mind that if a younger kid had a problem, they could turn to an older kid for help. However, some fifth graders took advantage of their towering size over the kindergartners and bullied them any time they wanted. This was never noticed by teachers, until they saw a large crowd gathering at the far side of the playground.

"Hey," Britney said with a serious face. "Give us back our ball, we were playing with that."

"Too bad, it our ball now. And there's nothing you can do about it."

The brothers ran around the girls, passing the ball above the girls' heads as they taunted them.

"Hey, so you're that new girl with the blue hair. I'm Mark, the eldest of us brothers, but you just need to know that we own everything on this playground. If there's something here that we want we get it, make sense?"

Britney just glared, "No, it doesn't make sense. No one made you guys the boss."

"We made ourselves the boss, and that makes us in charge. And since we're in charge, we get this ball."

Britney just kept glaring at Mark. She was waiting for the right time to strike. She saw his eyes glance to the side and his hands rose to catch the incoming ball, but Britney got there first. She jumped and twisted in midair, plucking the ball from its path and landed with it in her arms. She looked back at Mark and smirked in victory.

"Hey!" Mark yelled. "That's ours. Just like everything else here."

"Well come and get it then."

This obvious taunt drew a lot of attention, and several nearby students turned to watch what they all thought was going to happen: a fifth grader put another kindergartner in their place.

Mark waked up to Britney and grabbed the ball while landing a kick to her gut. Britney hit the dirt sprawling while the fifth grade audience laughed. Her fellow kindergartners winced in sympathy.

Britney, being as stubborn as she was, didn't stay down long. She got up and started marching back at Mark. As she was walking, a small silver aura radiated around her. However, no one gave any sign of witnessing it.

The brothers were passing the ball to each other, making it circle around Britney. Finally, one of them, Mathew, threw it straight at her back, but Britney spun on her heel and grabbed the ball. Still spinning, adding her momentum to the ball's, she flung it at Max where it hit him in the nose hard enough for a resounding _crack_ to be heard by everyone watching. The ball bounced of his face and Britney caught it once more. She dropped it and gave it a swift kick that sent it straight to Mathew's gut, causing him to immediately vomit up the contents of his stomach. Britney tuned to face Mark, who was staring at the wreckage she caused.

Britney continued her march towards Mark, the ball forgotten. As she got closer, Mark's face got slightly more and more panicked. Britney kept the same, ominous smirk the whole way. She was about to raise her fist but a gruff voice interrupted.

"Hey, what's going on here?"

Britney looked to see a large teacher she didn't recognize and just cocked her head to the side in wonder. Mark started saying that Britney was a monster and that she hurt his brothers for 'no reason'. Everyone else just scattered.

The teacher looked at Britney with a less-than-pleased expression, "What happened here missy?"

"They took my ball. I tried to get it back."

"Did you intentionally hurt those two?" he asked while gesturing towards the injured siblings, who were being cared for by other concerned teachers that had ran over from the commotion.

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Well, that one," Britney pointed to Mathew. "Threw the ball at my back, so I caught it and threw it at the other one and hit him in the face." Britney pointed at Max as she said the last few words. "Then I caught the ball again and hit him in the gut and he started puking all over the place. Then you came."

"I see, so why did Mathew throw the ball at you in the first place."

"Well they took the ball from me as I was playing with a couple of other girls. I told them to give it back, but they just passed the ball around, mocking us. I grabbed the ball as they were throwing it, and he kicked me to get it back. I got up and started walking towards him and that's when the ball was thrown at me."

The teacher looked thoughtful at this and was about to say something when Max opened his mouth.

"She's lying! She just attacked us for no reason, we didn't see it coming. Honest!"

The teacher just sighed, "I have two conflicting stories, so I'm just going to review the tapes. The one should have caught everything." He pointed at a camera on a light post before walking away.

Max got all up in Britney's face when the teacher left.

"You just got a new enemy, punk."

"You know you're going to get in trouble, right?"

"So? I'll get suspended for a couple of days and just come right back. You better watch your back, because the wrath of the brother's is on."

.oOo.

There was no wrath unleashed. The tapes were reviewed and the brothers were all expelled. Britney got off with a warning, they claimed she was using self-defense, so she was fine.

Other children heard about this and looked to the blue-haired girl in awe. She was the first to stand up to any of the fifth graders. No one dared to mess with her, especially after a video of the fight was posted on YouTube.

Britney was respected by her classmates, but she still didn't like them. She only remembered how mean they were to her, so she still had little friends.

Her father also seemed a tad bit nicer at home. He treated Elijah and Britney less like slaves and more like children.

But at the start of summer, and every summer after, things went back to the horrible reality that was normal.

.oOo.

Every summer Britney was punished, sometimes over things that happened over the school year. Britney never seemed to be happy, her spirt crushed. Elijah tried to do his best to protect her, but Father wouldn't allow for Elijah to cover for her any longer. Britney was punished mercilessly, and it got worse every time. Sometimes she was whipped before her previous lashing had time to heal, causing the blows to open new and old wounds.

Britney was also forced to wear her smaller clothes again, which was disheartening. She was too embarrassed to go outside, and most nights were plagued with storms, so the nightly play time she had hoped for rarely happened.

Before the next school year, Britney had to 'refresh her deal' as Father called it, and it was worse than last time. Britney got through it, but it was much worse than anything else she had experienced. Father had intentionally lashed her neck, and whipped her limbs several times. He also lashed at her hands and the bottoms of her feet. It took all of her effort to not whimper in pain.

First grade went well. She was still feared from that day in kindergarten, so she wasn't messed with as much as the year prior. She did make a small change to her outfit, she now wore black, elbow length, satin gloves. She had wanted sliver ones, but she never found any. She had a good, fun year. But that ended once summer began, and at the end of summer, Britney received the worst news off all.

.oOo.

"F-Father?" Britney asked timidly while her father sat on the couch watching T.V.

"What, do want, girl?"

"I, um, it's almost the end of summer, don't I have to refresh our deal?"

Father muted the T.V. and stared at Britney, causing her to flinch and sub-consciously cover herself

"You're not going to school this year. You _will_ stay here and train for your future."

"But-"

"NO! YOU ARE NOT GOING TO SCHOOL, AND THAT IS FINAL!"

"C-Can you at least tell me what I'm training for?" Britney voice was so small, that her father could just barely understand the gist of it.

"You will become a Lady-of-the-Night, a respectable profession, especially by men. Your training will all be hands-on. You will start the first day Elijah is gone for school and may come home late most nights, but don't worry, you'll have fun."

Britney just stood there, not knowing what to think. There was one thing she kept her focus on: if she was supposed to come home late, where would she be?

"Hey! Britney!" Elijah's voice broke through Britney's thoughts. "Come here, I want to show you something!"

Britney turned and ran towards the voice. She turned into her room to find Elijah running around and stuffing things into his Play Kit. The usual contents of the Play Kit were in a messy pile under Elijah's desk.

"What are you doing?" Britney asked, dumbfounded

"You need to run away. I'm packing a bag for you. Oh, shut the door."

"What? Why? I don't want to leave you!"

Elijah zipped the bag and grabbed a rope from the floor. He started tying the door knob to the bed, locking the door shut.

"Do you remember what I told you when you wanted to play outside by yourself?"

Britney nodded. When Elijah had lost of homework, Britney thought about going outside by herself. Elijah told her not to, but if she did, to watch out for other people. If someone kidnapped her, they would do terrible things to her, and Elijah had no problems with thoroughly explaining what rape was. Britney was too scared to be alone after that.

"Well," Elijah opened Britney's drawer and started throwing some clothing onto the bed. "Father is going to have people pay him to do those things to you. That's what a Lady-of-the-Night is."

"O-Okay, what do I do?"

"I told you," Elijah turned and grabbed Britney by the shoulders. "Run."

Britney merely nodded as she turned and started to change into the clothes her brother pulled out.

"Britney, where's your hoodie and gloves?"

"I lost the gloves, and the hoodie is too small."

Britney had just turned around to see the mass of blue fabric fly towards her face. She caught it and recognized it as Elijah's blue hoodie.

"There's nothing I can so about the gloves, but you can have that."

Britney threw on the hoodie just as a loud bang made her and Elijah jump.

"WHY IS THIS DOOR LOCKED? OPEN IT NOW!" Father screamed.

Elijah grabbed his pencil holder from his desk and threw it at the window, shattering it.

"Hurry, Britney. You need to get out of here."

Britney ran over to the window and jumped into the air, Elijah gave her a boost with his hands as she went sailing through the jagged hole in the wall. The extra speed allowed Britney to sail into the silver-washed night while clearing the glass-riddled grass.

"Run, little sister! Get as far as you can! Run! Now!"

Britney turned and ran form the place she called a home. Ran as the person she loved the most dueled against the one she despised with all her heart. She ran faster as the sounds of the brawl grew softer into the night. She ran into the place she knew best in the light of the silver moon. She ran deep into the forest, where only her brother could follow.

* * *

(Artemis)

I watched as Britney ran through the brush, dodging branches and jumping roots. I might have stayed if not for the sudden movement in my arms.

I looked down to see the little girl that made me worry so much in such a small amount of time. She looked as if she were about to wake.

"Take her to your throne." I looked up to see Hestia looking at me.

"She doesn't need to see this, and you know what happens after. You two can wait out there until this is done, then I'll send the others and you can take them to camp."

I nodded and walked way carrying Britney out of the sound barrier just as she woke.

"Hey, Arty. What's going on?"

"Oh, hello there. I knew you were waking up so I brought you here. We didn't think you would want to relive your memories."

Britney smiled at me in thanks, but I could see the dark look she was trying to hide. Her memories haunted her now, and possibly forever. She squirmed in an attempt to escape my grasp, and I let out a small chuckle as I set her on the floor.

"So, are they done yet? You know, with my memories?"

"Not quite, they were right at the part before you met Thalia for the first time."

"I wonder how that's going to play out, too bad we can't watch."

I looked at her with curiosity, there was something still bothering me.

"Why have you never tried to get new gloves?"

Britney looked at the ground and slid her hands into her hoodie pockets. "I haven't had time. I was knocked out for a month, remember. And the Hunt kind of knew why my hands were scared, and Thalia told Annabeth and Percy, so I haven't thought much about getting new gloves. Although I would like new ones."

I smiled slyly, "A certain goddess with a thing for fashion owes me a favor."

Britney looked at me questioningly before I covered her eyes and flashed us to my least favorite temple on Olympus, after Apollo's, obviously.

* * *

(Britney)

I felt Artemis uncover my eyes as we arrived at our destination. I looked around to see the most pink-colored room that I have _ever_ seen in one place. Literally, _everything_ was pink. And I wasn't much of a fan for the color, especially after all the clothes my father bought for me.

Artemis looked really uncomfortable, something I hadn't really seen from the level-headed goddess.

"What's wrong, Arty?"

"I, um, I normally look twelve-years-old, and the person who lives here will most likely flip out over me being sixteen. Would you mind if I changed my age?"

I shook my head, "I don't mind. If it's what you prefer to look like, then go right ahead. You already know that I don't like being told what to wear and how to look, why should I tell others any different?"

Artemis smiled gratefully and motioned for me to turn around. After I did, a bright light shone from behind me before fading seconds later.

"You can turn around now."

The voice similar to Artemis's, but high pitched. I turned to see a miniature Artemis smiling at me.

I managed to speak, "You look smaller."

"This is how I normally look, little one. Get used to it."

I was about to ask why she changed in the first place when a young lady wearing nothing but a pink robe stepped around the corner.

"Oh, I knew I had visitors, but I didn't think it would be _you_ at my palace."

Artemis stepped towards the lady, "Aphrodite, I am here because of the favor you owe me."

"Oh? That? Finally! It's been hard to get a good beauty rest is with that hanging over my head for all of those years. What do I have to do? Make you beautiful, relive you and your hunt from their oath, just name it and it will be done."

"I want you to do something for Britney. She will ask one thing from you and you must oblige."

Aphrodite looked me over, "Well I hope she asks for a makeover, because that outfit is not fit for a lady."

The two goddesses were just staring at me, which made me very uncomfortable.

Aphrodite leaned forward and snapped in my face, "Hello? Tell me what you want, I'm a busy woman."

"Oh! Um, could you make me some gloves please?"

Aphrodite scoffed, "I need more to go off of than that! Style, color, size, fabric, thread count. I need details."

I shot out the details that had always been I my head since I first wanted gloves, "Shoulder-length, silver, small enough to fit me, silk, and enough thread for the glove to work I guess."

Aphrodite pulled out a tape measurer from thin-air, "I need your arm for measurements."

Artemis broke into the conversation, "Can't you give her ones that will grow with her?"

Aphrodite sighed, "I suppose. I got caught up in the moment, you know how much I enjoy tailoring."

Aphrodite grabbed a small box from a nearby shelf and tapped it, causing it to glow pink.

"Here, the gloves in here match your requirements. They will conform to your size and grow as you do. Ruptures in the fabric will fix themselves with time. They can also dry quickly and are flame resistant."

I took the box and opened it to find gloves that were a lot smaller than what I asked for. I looked at Aphrodite, but she just motioned for me to continue. I put the glove over my and hand, but as I pulled it tight the glove grew. It started to grow along my arm under my hoodie until it stopped at my shoulder. I did the same for the right glove and was happy with the results.

I handed to box back to Aphrodite before giving her a hug of appreciation. She smiled at me before asking me a question.

"Why did you want such long gloves if you have a hoodie?"

"It feels better. Plus, they can cover my arms when it's too hot."

"What do you need to cover your arms for?"

"I'll tell you later," Artemis said with a slight glare. "But Britney and I must be going now. My lieutenant is waiting."

Aphrodite nodded and started walking back the way she came, "Leave quietly please, and don't cause a mess."

Artemis put her hand over my eyes once more before flashing us back to her throne. We arrived to an empty room, apparently they were still going through my memories, so Artemis set up an archery range. We started shooting at different targets and it was going well, until Artemis decided that I couldn't use my blasters and had to use an actual bow.

"You must learn how to shoot a bow. The hunt is more dignified that way."

"But I can use my blasters so much easier! What's the point of using a bow to hunt if you can't hit your target?" I said while motioning to the large number of arrows that had failed to hit their mark.

Artemis shot another arrow that hit the center of her target. "You have shot _my_ bow, and made an impossible shot no less, surely you can hit this target."

I sighed, "Haven't you lived long enough to hear about an adrenaline rush? That's what happened to me, and it's not going to happen now."

Artemis shot a few more arrows before looking at me, "You should keep trying. If you can shoot accurately without my blessing, then you will be an incredible shot when you do receive it."

I tried and failed to hit the target again before dropping the bow and rained arrows onto the target from my blaster. Then I shot a couple spears, obliterating both the arrows and the target.

Artemis looked at the destruction and sighed, "At least you're not the worst shot I've seen, with a bow that is."

Artemis made the targets and missed arrows disappear while I made my copies disappear. I sat down on the floor and made my spear-tip poke in and out of the blaster.

"When will the others be done with my memories, they should have been near the end."

Artemis sat down next to me and stroked my hair, "I don't know, maybe they are just talking. I would take you in there but, if they might be watching things you don't need to see again."

I sighed. Artemis was right, but that didn't mean that I had to like it.

"Can I see your spear, just a copy."

I looked at Artemis surprised, she hadn't shown much interest before, "Sure."

I ejected a copy into the air and watched as Artemis rose and slashed the spear in half with her hunting knives. I was about to get mad at her when I saw her face go slack.

"What's wrong?"

"I thought I recognized this. This spear is from a time a little after Rome's fall. Look, see how the center is silver? These types of weapons can kill any monster extremely effectively."

I looked and saw that she was right, there was a cylinder of silver at the core of the spear.

"Why did you recognize this?"

"I made this weapon. At the time there weren't as many heroes, so most of the Celestial Bronze was used by the Hunt. Us gods were losing power up until the Renaissance, so I wasn't strong enough to enchant the silver I used for my Hunter's weapons. Instead, we combined sliver and Celestial Bronze so we could best any creature. The only weapons that we have now that are made like this are the lieutenant's arrows, which you also possess."

I dissipated the spear as Artemis dropped the pieces, "So, should I get more weapons like this?"

Artemis nodded, "Yes, definitely. It would be useful for your quest. You would either have to find others made this way, or do it yourself, otherwise the prophecy may count it as outside help."

I looked over at the fireplace everyone was at to see them all siting around. It looked like they weren't doing anything, just sitting around staring at each other. I looked at Artemis to see her staring off into space. I started walking over to the area where the others were a quickly as possible. My memories might have been too much to process, so if they were just sitting there I was going to at least hurry my fiends along.

I reached the edge of Hestia's magic bubble before stopping and looking at the scene. Hestia was sitting on the fireplace wall while everyone else stared at her open hand. Her hand had nothing in it, so I was really confused. I took one more step and entered the bubble, and watched as the area changed.

They weren't staring at Hestia's hand, rather at the screen emerging out of it. The video was at the worst possible moment, as I stared at the window to my own memories I saw, and heard, one memory I hope I will one day get over.

"Britney, get down!"

 _"BANG"_

* * *

 **I'm sorry. That's all I can really say besides 'I am not dead'. I wish I had finished this sooner, but this chapter was especially hard to write. School started in August and that has kept me busy, but the main reason was because of ore personal problems that I'd rather not share. I hope it doesn't take me this long to update again, for which I am very sorry. I start each chapter as soon as I finish the one before, so this was started in August, and the next chapter will be started either today or tomorrow. I'm so sorry for making you all wail so long, please don't hate me.**

 **Goodbye and good luck.**

 **-B.D.S.**

 **Created September 30, 2016.**

 **Edited November 10, 2016.**


	13. The Game

**I am literally writing this sentence before you finished the last chapter. That is how little time there is between the end of one and the start of another. Don't hate me, please.**

(Annabeth)

We had been going through one particular part of Britney's memories over and over, there was one thing that didn't make sense. When Britney was in her room for the last time, her brother's alarm clock read 11:30.

Thalia said that Britney arrived at camp at midnight, making Britney's journey from her house to the campsite thirty minutes long. However, according to Thalia's memory, the journey back took two _hours_. That would mean that Britney ran four times as fast as the Hunt, a group known for their enhanced speed through the wilderness.

We were reviewing Britney's arrival at her house for time stamps and everyone was invested at the screen. The scene had changed from the forest to the back yard of Britney's house.

 _"Elijah! You're okay!"_

 _"Britney, get down!"_

I knew what was coming, so I looked away. I didn't want to see that again. A flash of blue caught my eye as I saw Britney, the real Britney, standing at the edge of the barrier, right inside just in time to see the worst part of all.

" _BANG_ "

Britney's newly gloved hands covered her mouth as a whimper escaped. Her silver eyes glistened from the newly formed tears as her gaze was locked onto the window before her.

What I did next could have gotten me killed if Hestia weren't so nice. I jumped out of my seat and grasped Hestia's hand, forcing it into fist to wipe the image from the air. Hestia looked at me in confusion, but instead of responding, I simply released her hand and ran over to Britney and engulfed her in a hug.

I felt Percy and Thalia join us, and my shirt growing increasingly damp. We simultaneously pulled away and I crouched to her level.

"Britney, you were supposed to wait with Artemis."

Britney was still crying, "I w-wanted to s-see what was t-taking so long. I just s-saw you sitting t-there, so I wanted to tell you to hurry up."

I was going to say something else, but running footsteps cut me off.

"What happened? Who did this? It was you wasn't it?"

Artemis had Percy pinned on the floor by the neck. Due to the goddess's twelve-year-old size, it was a funny sight, but the fire of rage in her eyes was deadly.

"Niece, release my son," Poseidon leveled his trident at Artemis's face. "He didn't hurt the girl."

"Arty, it's okay."

Artemis looked behind her to see Britney standing by my leg. The goddess got off Percy and gave Britney a short hug before inspecting her for damage.

"Arty, I'm not hurt," Britney whined. "You can stop now."

"Why were you crying then?" Artemis asked while wiping Britney's cheeks of tears.

I answered for Britney as she was still trying to escape. "She walked in on a bad part of her memory. Why wasn't she with you?"

Artemis stiffened, "She walked off while I was distracted with memories from millennium ago. Her spear and arrows are very ancient and powerful weapons. If it is possible for her to find or make more before her journey, then she should."

I looked at Britney for an explanation, but she was still shaking from her memories.

"Can we go to camp now?" Britney asked.

(Britney)

I was questioned a lot after Artemis teleported us to camp. She arrived with us and gave the males a _very_ harsh glare before walking to her cabin. The Hunt was not far behind, and a few of them looked pissed. Annabeth said that they weren't expecting to have to stay at camp for so long. They were also mad because Artemis had ditched them after I got shot.

We arrived a little before lunchtime and the Artemis table would not let me eat alone this time. I sat in the middle of the left bench and was questioned non-stop. Until Thalia brought up my memories, my expression was enough for them to drop most of the conversation.

The hunters were very interested in what Artemis had found out about my weapons. The hunters who were alive at that time explained how those weapons were discontinued after the Revolutionary War. Any known weapons had been separated into the two metals, the bronze given to the demigods and the silver to the hunters. Some campers had made weapons with the combined metals, but Artemis's weapons were far superior.

After lunch, Percy and Annabeth took me back to the armory to get me geared up for the game of capture the flag tonight. They were supposed to have it when the Hunt first arrived, but the Hunt refused to participate without word from their goddess. I looked around the armor section for a shield, searching for one with a silver center. Sadly, the one I found wasn't what I had in mind.

"Help!"

"I got you Britney."

Percy lifted me out from under the shield I had picked out. It had a silver circle about three-fourths the size of the total diameter with a bronze ring as the remaining fourth. The total diameter was four feet, making the shield as wide as the length of my spear. That also meant that the shield was as tall as I was, hence it crushing me when I tried to lift it.

"Britney, that won't fit in your blaster," Annabeth said with her logical and condescending tone. "And you're too small to hold it let alone wield it."

"I got this, just give me a minute."

I extended my bracelets and put the shield on my left arm. I imagined the shield getting sucked into the blaster, but it didn't work quite as planned. Instead of being pulled into the small hole where my wrist was, it shrunk and crumpled and folded its way until it was wrapped around the blaster.

With my hand still grasped around the handle, the shield along with my hand went into the blaster, but not how the other weapons did. The shield seemed to flow into the sides of the shield, passing through the wall of metal around my arm. Soon the shield was gone, absorbed by my blaster along with my hand. I pulled my hand back out and inspected my blaster, trying to see if there was any change.

"How are you supposed to get the shied back?" Annabeth asked.

I shrugged, "I don't know, I don't think this was what my brother planned on me using these for when he made them?"

I altered the switches to create a new shield. I imagined the shield appearing my arm, just as it was when I absorbed it. For added flair, I snapped my arm as I tried to summon my shield.

' _BOOM_ '

The shield appeared just as it had left, its size causing it to hit the ground as it appeared. I lifted my arm as if there was nothing, moving the shield around my body as if I were defecting attacks.

"What the heck?" Annabeth was stunned. "How can you move that so easily?"

"It weightless. Someone try hitting it."

Percy grabbed a sword off the ground and swung it at my shield, which I blocked easily. His brow furrowed and he swung again, but faster. I held my ground and still blocked the attack, not staggering at all.

Percy dropped the sword, "We can go to the arena later to test it more, but is there anything else you want here."

I nodded. Percy and Annabeth looked for more weapons to match my set while I switched my shield for a copy. I rolled the original back where I got it, marveling at how I could lift something so easily with my blasters.

"Hey, I found something that matches!"

Percy and I ran over to Annabeth who was holding two oddly shaped blades. The blades were designed the same as my shield, with the silver edged by bronze. The blade was about 2½ feet long, but six of the inches were curved oddly. The shape of the blade was similar to a small Greek Rho, with the handle being the bottom of the curve.

I took the blades from Annabeth and held them. The blade curved around the front of my hand before running down the outside of the arm and a good way past my elbow. **(If anyone wants an image, it makes her arms look somewhat like a Gallade's arm, except a blade protects her fist.)** The handle was wrapped in silver leather, matching the design well.

"These are cool! They remind me of the hunter's daggers, but these are much different."

Percy looked skeptical, "Those look difficult to use, let alone master. Knives and daggers aren't necessarily the best choice in weaponry. A sword has more range and power, while those would require you to get close enough to punch your opponent."

Annabeth nodded, "As a dagger user, I have to agree. Daggers require more brains than brawn to use well."

I looked at my blades and frowned, these were so cool, and I didn't want to give them up. They weren't light, but they were easier to hold. With a flick of my wrists I spun the handles in my hands, causing the curved blade to be above the base of my wrists, and the straight blade was stretched out in front.

I gave a few experimental swipes, swinging my blades like two swords.

"I think this could work," I said while flipping the blades back too normal and absorbing them into my blasters.

Percy sill looked doubtful, but he could tell I had made up my mind.

"Is there anything else you think you could use maybe some armor or a sword?"

I picked out some light leather armor that kind of weighed me down, but Percy would not let me leave without some sort of armor. I kept refusing on a sword, they were too hard to hold, but there was still something I thought I could use. However, I felt very conflicted.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Annabeth asked, obviously concerned.

"Oh, um, there is one thing I think I could use. Back with my brother, we would sometimes fight with chains, but we stopped after the first time I got whipped. We would sometimes play with them a little bit, but Elijah knew how uncomfortable I felt using them. I was still really good with them, and when Elijah had too much work, I once went out and messed around with them. They were very easy for me to control."

I stopped as tears started forming in my eyes as remembered all of the fun I had with my brother. Annabeth sat down next to me and cuddled held me close to her with my face buried into her shoulder. Percy stroked my head a little before walking off into the building. A few minutes later, he retuned accompanied by the sound of metal scraping wood.

I looked up to see Percy holding a 6 ft. chain made of alternating silver and bronze links.

"It's here if you want to copy it. We use this as a divider between the Campers and Hunters in the stands of the arena."

I grabbed one end and slowly brought it into my blaster, creating and storing a copy before handing the original back to Percy.

"This can help me remember my brother, thank you."

Percy smiled and went to put the chain away. I smiled at Annabeth, "You two would make great parents."

Annabeth blushed, "I'm not going to have this conversation with you."

I laughed and stood up as Annabeth got to her feet. Percy walked over and took her hand before pushing the door open just as the dinner horn sounded.

.oOo.

After a thankfully uneventful dinner, Chiron announced that, with Artemis safe, the Hunt would now accept the challenge to a game of capture the flag. Sadly, I had to make the decision between siding with the campers or Hunt. Annabeth made it easier by telling me to go with the Hunt; we all knew that if it weren't for my quest, I would be a hunter.

Before we made are way to our side of the river, several of the hunters filled their water bottles at a cooler in the dining hall. Someone offered to share with me, but I had an idea.

I set my blasters to copy, and fed some water into the gaping hole. After I had a bit, I switched one switch to fire and shot water all into the grass before lowering the pressure and drinking some for myself.

Thalia looked impressed, "Now you have a water source for your quest. For a male, your brother created a fine piece of technology."

I glared at her before shooting a bit if water in her face, startling her and making her glare intensely.

"Don't you _ever_ do that again!" Thalia growled before spinning around and started leading us to the west side of the river. One of the hunters told me how she had almost fried Percy for something similar, and not do that again. Thalia was the only one they couldn't prank using water, or else they would get pranked via electricity, which was far worse.

.oOo.

When we found a spot to hide our flag, Thalia started assigning us jobs to do, one team would venture into enemy territory and swipe their flag, another would follow them to the river and set up around there to aid their escape. Finally, the team I was assigned to was tasked with defending our flag.

I was given a bunt arrow to shoot at others, and they told me not to break the sound barrier this time. Us defending spread out around the flag and stayed silent after the horn sounded that started the game. It was a still light outside, so we could see when campers came.

When an unlucky camper did arrive, we shot arrows from all directions. The campers were never ones I recognized, as I had never met them, but I would only shoot near them. I couldn't bring myself to shoot them as my father did to my brother.

"Hey," I recognized Candice's voice. "There's a group of them near our flag, let's get 'em."

The rest of the hunter's cheered in a rallying cry and gave chase to the campers after jumping from their perches in the trees. I thought about following them, but I wanted to stay and guard the flag the rest had forgotten about. I saw three boys, and shot several arrows at them.

"Only one shooter?" one of called into the forest. "Are you all alone little girl?"

"I bet she's all scared, she can't even hit us."

"Or she's just too weak to shoot right."

They walked over to the flag very slowly, spinning around and calling me names. If I had known better, I would have called for others, but I wanted to defend the flag. As a last ditch effort to scare them, I shot a spear in front of the leader, stopping the group.

"Oh, did you throw your only spear? That wasn't very smart."

I responded by shooting several more, creating a half circle around them. They looked a little shocked, but one of them pointed straight at me and whispered to the other two. They walked past the flag and towards my tree, the flag forgotten.

"We know where you are little Britney, you obviously aren't very smart. We are all sons of Ares; we know how to fight a battle. Those Athenian brats are all about strategy and planning and taking their time. But the way to winning is to rush in and take everyone out, then go for the objective uncontested. So, were going to take you out."

I was scared, but I didn't want to show it. "NO MAIMING!" I yelled it as confidently as I could, but they just laughed.

"Aww, are you hiding behind _rules?_ That's cute, but this is just an 'accident', right guys?"

The other two nodded, before pulling out identical jars full of a dark green liquid. They set them at the base of the tree and stepped back, drawing their bows as they walked.

"We heard that you don't even use a bow, but a couple of girly bracelets to shoot. Well, this is how a man shoots."

The other two shot their bows, shattering the jars and spreading the green liquid all around the tree. Everywhere the liquid spread lit up in a green blaze.

"You're new, so I'll fill you in. This is called Greek fire, it's hot, deadly, and water does nothing. The monsters in this forest cause fire like this all the time, so we won't be blamed. And we'll stay here until you're dead and blackened. Your fellow hunters did nothing but torture us males, now we'll teach them not to mess with us."

I looked on in horror as the flames licked their way up the trunk and the smoke passed on through the leaves. I climbed higher to avoid the smoke, but there was a limit to how far I could go.

(Thalia)

"And the winner, again, is the hunters."

The hunt took up a cheer as we raised the camper's flag. We easily took it using Shania's control of the mist. As we celebrated, I looked around for Britney. The rest of the defenders were here, so where was she?

"Hey, Candice? Where's Britney?"

Candice looked thoughtful for a moment, "We all chased a group of campers a little before you crossed over. Maybe she stayed to guard the flag."

I looked towards the location of our flag, and noticed a large pillar of black smoke.

"PERCY!"

"What?"

"Are all the campers accounted for?"

"Um, no. Three of Ares's brats are gone. They wanted a bit of revenge on the Hunt, so I told them to be border guard. I thought that their vengeance would create vigilance."

"Well there's a fire by our flag, and Britney's over there. If they caused that fire to hurt her, I'll kill them."

Percy looked at the pillar of smoke and scowled, "I'll help you."

I sent some hunter to get Artemis, some to get Chiron, some for Hestia, and the rest to find those missing campers, maybe they were already at camp. Annabeth accompanied Percy and I as we ran through the woods to find Britney.

.oOo.

We arrived at the site of the fire and stopped in horror. My flag was still there, which made me even more pissed. The three boys at the other end of the field walked straight passed it to mess with Britney. Britney's arrows and spears were scattered across the field, so she must have tried to scare them off. I doubted she had the heart to actually hit them.

The boys were watching a tree burn in a blaze of Greek fire and turned to face us as we approached.

"What did you do?" I screamed.

"You deserve this. All you hunters do is attack us males, blaming us for Atremis bailing on you, forcing us away from the training areas, and just making our time here worse. You could have set up your little Girl Scout camp somewhere else; no one forced you to stay. You could of just recruited Britney when you found her, there was no reason to come here."

"We didn't know if she was a demigod, that's why we came. And we only stayed because Artemis and Chiron told us to. Do you think we _like_ being around you males?"

The leader sneered, "You don't seem to mind Percy, you not betraying Annabeth are you?"

I felt my eyes go electric as the sky rumbled. I raised my hand and summoned lightning to strike them. They tried to jump out of the way, but were still knocked unconscious upon landing.

"HELP! PLEASE! I CAN'T GET DOWN, THERE'S TOO MUCH FIRE! HELP ME, PLEASE!"

We looked up to see Britney high up in the tree. The tree was about the size of a five-story building, and the fire was halfway up. Britney was shaking from both coughing and sheer terror.

We were frozen in fear for Britney, only Annabeth and her ever-running mind could create a sentence.

"What do we do?"

(3rd person)

A lone figure was sitting in a golden throne. He was at the head of the room, with one throne beside him for his wife, and the rest forming two rows in front of his. A scratching sound came from the large doors at the front of the room.

"Enter!" bellowed the man.

The door opened from a gust of wind and a large she-wolf walked in.

"What is your business here, Lupa?"

The wolf growled, "You know my business, the moon's child should have been brought to me a month ago. Why has it taken so long?"

"The Greeks grew attached to her, and her to them. Maybe it would be best for her to stay."

"She's a child of Rome!" Lupa snapped.

The man stood and slammed a staff of lightning to the ground. "YOU'LL TAKE NO SUCH TONE WITH ME!" he bellowed.

Lupa bowed in shame, but you could tell she didn't like it. "My apologies, Lord Jupiter. However, my point still stands: Children of Rome must find their way to me and I send them to Rome, if they are strong enough."

Jupiter sat back in his throne, "The girl was assigned a quest be the Oracle of Delphi, when she starts I can heard her to your house."

Lupa grinned, "Thank you, when should I expect her?"

Jupiter shook his head, "Don't sit on your tails waiting, she will come in due time."

Lupa snarled, "Alright, but she must embark before the full moon."

Jupiter nodded, "On the night of the full moon, if she has not left the Greeks, I will force her to."

Lupa bowed gratefully, "Thank you, my Lord. I'll hold you to your word."

Jupiter nodded in response and waved Lupa off. Lupa bowed again before walking out the door. Several howls were heard as wolves left with their leader.

"Father, are you alright?"

A young woman clad in a silver hunting dress walked over to Jupiter.

"Ah, Diana, I'm fine. Is the Grecian riding the moon?"

Diana smiled, "Yes, but more importantly who is this 'child of the moon'?"

Jupiter sighed, "A new demigod was found by your counterpart. She told the Grecian council that the moon was her mother. Your counterpart denies breaking her oath, and the original lunar goddess has all but faded, both Greek and Roman. And I'm sure your oath is still intact?"

Diana blushed, embarrassed by the topic, but nodded anyway. "Yes Father, I have not taken a lover."

Jupiter nodded, "It's quite the mystery, a motherless child. However, the girl's quest is to solve this problem, so it will be fine."

Diana frowned, "Will the girl need any guidance to Lupa?"

"She is attached to the moon, use that to guide her."

Diana nodded and gave a curtsy before excusing herself to her palace. Jupiter sighed after she left.

'The poor girl,' he thought. 'All possible mothers have denied her, she lost her mortal family is about to lose her new one. Hopefully her journey is swift.'

Jupiter pounded his staff into the ground and disappeared as a gust of wind, leaving the throne room cold and empty.

 **Hi! I felt really bad about making you wait so long, so I spent all of my free time writing this. It only took me two days, which made me happy. I already know who Britney's mother is, and you're welcome to guess, but I'm not telling. Britney will get two more things for her blasters before she sets off on her quest, and you're are welcome to guess those as well. Anyway, thanks for reading and hopefully not hating me.**

 **Goodbye and good luck.**

 **-B.D.S.**

 **Created October 2, 2016.**

 **Edited November 10, 2016.**


	14. The Spar

**Britney will get one more thing for her blaster, and one right before she leaves. So... yeah... on with the story!**

* * *

(Thalia)

"What do we do?"

Neither Percy nor myself could answer her question. The smoke rose on a gust of wind, covering all but the tip of the tree. As Britney disappeared from my vision, I panicked.

"We need a plan to save her, there has to be something we can do." I yelled, trying to turn Annabeth into her problem solving self.

"Um, the tree!" Annabeth looked even more scared. "The fire could cause the tree to collapse."

Percy, for once, had a decent idea. "What if we use her chains? If we can get a chain from Britney to the top of a that tall tree over there, maybe she could swing down?"

We looked to where he pointed and Annabeth looked like she was doing some calculations.

"This will work, as long as we get into place before the fire covers Britney's path as she swings."

We ran over to the tree while casting glances at Britney. She had a massive shield under her to block the smoke. The flames were only a few branches beneath her.

"Thalia!"

Annabeth brought me back to attention.

"What?"

"You need to climb the tree, Percy and I are too heavy."

I felt myself getting sick, "I can't do that! I _hate_ heights!"

Percy crouched and held his hands down as a step, "No choice Thalia. You're the only one that could climb that high without the tree breaking. I can launch you to the first branch, but you'll have to climb from there."

I took a step back shaking my head, "I can't guys. I'm too scared of heights."

Annabeth whirled on me, her face full of anger.

"How do you think she feels?" She screamed, pointing at Britney. "You've seen what she's been through. She might not be afraid of heights like you, but she's obviously afraid of fire. Plus, you, Artemis, and the entire freaking hunt want her as a hunter, and she wants to be a hunter. Artemis already said that if it weren't for her quest, she would _be_ a hunter. So as her future lieutenant, CLIMB THE DAMN TREE!"

I blinked in surprise from her outburst, I couldn't remember if she had ever yelled at me like that. Percy gave me a sympathetic look; he wasn't called a seaweed brain for nothing.

I looked up at Britney to she her trying to climb higher, testing each branch to see if it could support her weight. Several we snapping off and falling into ever approaching the flames, and not even ashes were falling to the ground.

"Get ready, boy."

I ran towards Percy at full sprint, using Artemis's blessing to gain extra speed. I jumped and he caught my feet and sent me skyward into the tree. I grasped a nearby branch and started my accent, not stopping until the branches couldn't support my weight.

I looked across to see Britney stuck, the branches above her were too thin, and the fire was directly below her. The flames licking the very branch she was standing on.

Her eyes met mine and I saw the fear all about them. Her face was streaked gray from the smoke.

"Thalia, help! The fire's getting closer, and water doesn't do anything!"

My mind was racing for an idea. It would take too much time to securely tie the chains; the fire would burn her by then. I finally settled on an idea that might work.

"Your blasters! Absorb the flames with your blasters!"

Britney's eyes filled with hope, brimming with confidence in the presence of a plan.

She crouched on her branch; one hand extended to the flame, and the other gripping the trunk for dear life. She extended her bracelet and sucked in her hand before trying to absorb the flame.

The closest of the flames entered, but her branch would burn before she got all of the flames.

"Imagine you blaster as a vacuum, a swirling vortex that can suck up all the flames."

Britney nodded and continued, gradually turning the green inferno into a thin column of fire that disappeared into the abyss of her blaster. She stopped once the flames were too far away, about 20 feet below her.

"Now what?" Britney screamed at me. "The fire burned away the branched below me, and the trunk would burn my hands."

"Send your chains to me," I yelled back, remembering Annabeth's plan. "I'll hold onto them and you can swing into this tree."

Britney tried to shot her chains to me, but gravity took effect before they reached me.

"Try swinging your arm to sent the chain, as if you were fishing."

"I've never been fishing!"

"Like this," I called while demonstrating with my arm.

Britney mimicked the motion and sent the chain towards me, this time the chain was caught in the branches above me.

I brought the chain to where I was and started to wrap it around the trunk, occasionally calling for more slack. I was almost done before I heard a loud crack.

"Thalia! The tree is falling!"

I looked to see her tree falling away from my own. It was breaking where Britney had stopped it, as the fire could not climb the blacked trunk. Instead, it ate away to the core, causing the part where Britney was to fall.

"Swing from your branch." I ordered.

Britney looked skeptical, but jumped anyway. The tree groaned under the weight as Britney swung from her tree to mine. I hung onto the trunk as Britney landed into my tree and screamed as it shook from her landing.

"What's wrong?" Britney called to me.

Annabeth answered before I could, "She's scared of heights!"

I could hear Percy and Annabeth laughing beneath me, but I couldn't look down at them. I heard some rustling in the branches below me and glared at the happy little face that popped up.

"So the Daughter of the Sky God is afraid of heights."

"Hey, I saved your life. You don't get to tease me."

Britney shrugged before looping her chain around the trunk and handing me the loose end.

"Hold onto this with your arms and legs, I'll lower you down."

I did as she said and gave a small squeal as she started extending her chain and lowering me down.

"You might have to swing to avoid some branches. When you get to the bottom, keep holding on until I get down!"

I held on for dear life as she lowered me down. I was counting the branch I passed, trying to remember how many it took to get up here. As I neared the bottom, I could hear lots of people laughing at my state, but I couldn't look at them until I reached the ground.

"Aw," Lilly cooed. "The big bad lieutenant of the Hunt needs a little girl to save her."

I felt my feet hit the ground and turned to glare at the others gathered around. The hunters had finally gotten back, along with Hestia, Artemis, Chiron, and several campers.

"Help me anchor this chain, Britney's coming down now."

A few hunters grabbed onto the chain before I gave it a tug, signaling to Britney that I was ready. I was waiting for the branches to start rusting, signaling her descent, but instead, she launched herself out of the tree as if she were Base-jumping.

"What are you doing?" Artemis screamed as Britney kept her free fall. Eventually, the chain went taut and she started swinging like a pendulum.

She swung a few times before dissipating her chain and rolling with the impact before standing back up.

"That was fun! Can I go again?"

Artemis ran over to Britney before scooping her off her feet and was met with a yelp.

"Put me down, Arty! I can walk just fine!"

"I remember a certain little girl asking to be carried the first time I met her."

Britney's face went a little red as she kept trying to escape, "I ran through the woods, I was tired."

"Whatever," Artemis said while setting Britney down next to the rest of the Hunt. "You better not try anything like that again just for fun, I don't want any more adrenaline junkies in the Hunt."

Hestia gave one of her all-knowing smiles, "Are you _sure_ you're not her mother?"

Artemis clenched her fist and walked into the woods. Farther on, a silver light beamed from the forest to the moon.

"Hestia, she's not my mother. You don't have to keep on teasing her."

Hestia looked at me with a caring face, "I know, but it's hard with the way she acts around you. She is more motherly to you than the rest."

"That's probably because the next youngest hunter is twelve."

Hestia sighed, "Fair point. Now who wants me to teleport them to camp?"

* * *

(Britney)

Hestia flashed us to the arena, per Percy's request. He had promised to train me, but the Hunt took over my train saying that 'a hunter can only be trained by hunter,' and 'a male couldn't train himself,' so Percy and Annabeth resorted to sparring with other campers and the left side of the arena.

"Now," Thalia started. "What kind of weapons do you have?"

I shot out a copy of all of my weapons in front of me, making all of the weapons stick into the ground except for the chain.

"Where did you find these?"

Several of the hunters were investigating my arsenal marveling at how I managed to find them in the armory. The older hunters said Artemis did in fact create all of my weapons, the chain being the most recent to stop any fights during events.

"Which do you want to learn first?" Thalia asked.

I dissipated all of my weapons and recreated my curved blades in my hands.

"How about these? The rest of them are very basic and I kind of already figured them out."

We stared training with older hunters pairing with younger ones. Thalia herself decided to train me. She would demonstrate different techniques with her knives, but when I tried to mimic them, it never came out right.

Her, and every other hunter, had silver hunting knives with a six blades. I, however, had two-foot blades that curved around my hands and ran down my arm made of silver and bronze. Even the oldest hunters couldn't teach me how to use them. They simply never used them. Apparently the lieutenant only used them, but they stopped the tradition what the new lieutenant couldn't learn the fighting style for the new blades.

"Maybe Artemis can teach me?"

Thalia smiled reassuringly, "Probably, she did make the thing in the first place. While we wait for her to come back, why don't we practice with your other weapons?

We tried to practice more, but there wasn't much to do. The arrows and shield were pretty straightforward, and I couldn't do anything with my spear except shoot it or have it partially extended and swing my arms around. Sadly, there wasn't mush use to that without wrist joints.

The chains were also simple: I just did the same as with I played with them, flicking my arm to make the tips lash out or wrap around my opponents. This was especially useful when I weighed down arms or tripped their legs.

The training didn't take long, but the armor was draining me. To Percy's dismay, the hunters let me take it off and keep it off. They didn't wear armor either.

Artemis returned late. She found us training and said she put the chariot on autopilot, so it wouldn't crash. When we asked her to help train me she was very displeased.

"Why couldn't you guys train her?"

Camilla, the oldest hunter and the only daughter of Aphrodite in the hunt, had to explain, "She wields the Lieutenant's Blades. We don't know how to use them ourselves, so we can't show her."

I showed Artemis my blades, and her eyes went wide.

"Where did you find these? I thought they were destroyed."

"Annabeth found them. They were in the armory. The originals are still in there."

Artemis thrust her hand into the air and focused. Soon, a glint of metal sparked in the sky and the blades flew into her awaiting hands.

"I have not seen these for millennium. It was long before Zoë that these were put out of use."

Some of the hunters looked sad at the mention of Zoë, I didn't know who she was, but I decided not to pry. The hunters didn't ask about my brother, so I wasn't going to ask about their sister.

"Can you teach me how to use them?" I asked Artemis.

"Yeah," Thalia interjected. "Can you teach me as well? We could start the tradition again."

"Oh, I suppose. Neither of you have completely mastered our usual blades, so it won't be that hard." Artemis handed the original blades to Thalia before creating her own that were made of pure silver.

I started jumping excitedly while Thalia looked a little hurt.

"Oh don't look like that," Artemis laughed. "You know you prefer your spear and shield over your knives, admit it."

Thalia sighed and took up her fighting stance in front of a practice dummy, waiting for instructions.

"That's not how I teach."

Thalia looked at her confused, but Artemis took the opportunity to flip the blades around and cross them around Thalia's neck.

"We have never trained with dummies in the Hunt, Thalia. We don't have any. Experienced hunters teach the less experienced hunters through sparring, or in this case, beating you to a pulp."

Artemis started attacking Thalia with a flurry of slashes, switching the blades from being extended down her arm to out in front like swords. Thalia tried helplessly to block and kept stepping backwards in retreat. Eventually, Thalia was too focused on blocking and tripped over her own foot. Artemis capitalized on her error and had a blade on her throat, smiling.

"Do you want some ambrosia?" Artemis asked, glancing at Thalia's many cuts.

Thalia just sighed and nodded as Artemis conjured up a square of what looked like taffy and popped it into Thalia's mouth. As Thalia chewed, the cuts on her quickly healed, not even leaving scars.

"What was that?" I asked Artemis after she helped Thalia to her feet.

"It's called ambrosia. We gods eat it all the time, but demigods use it as medicine. It can heal any wound, and even mend broken bones if given enough time. However, if you eat too much, you will literally burst into flames."

"How could that be safe?"

"Oh, it's perfectly safe as long as you don't eat too much at a time. Now, do you want to have a go?

* * *

(Artemis)

I realized my mistake once Britney switched her blades to a pair of shields that she could sleep on.

"You're not going to cut me, are you?" Britney whimpered.

I sighed as I looked at her tiny face in the gap between her shields, "No, I won't. I go slower with you, as you've never been trained."

Britney still had some fear in her eyes as she switched back to her blades. She copied my ready stance before Thalia gave the signal to start.

I slowed my movements long enough for Britney to at least react, but she just stood there as I moved my blade to her throat.

"Britney," I said slightly annoyed. "You have to do something. Don't think to hard about what to do, just follow your instincts."

Britney gave an affirmative nod as I returned to my ready position. As I went to strike again, Britney switched her left blade for a shield and blocked my attack."

"Britney, that's still not right."

"What's wrong," Britney complained as she dismissed her shield. "I followed my instincts like you said."

"Yes, you did. But you were supposed to use your blades."

"But it's too hard to use only one weapon!" Britney whined. "If I can switch to have the advantage, then shouldn't I do that?"

"I do the same. It is more effective that way."

I glared at Thalia for taking Britney's side, but she just looked at me.

"You do the same with your knives and spear, so you can't talk."

"You have a spear?" Britney asked excitedly "Can I see it?"

I held out my knives at reformed them with a silver light, switching the two individual blades into my least known weapon.

My spear was silver, matching the rest on my weapons, and was the same size as Britney's.

"It looks like mine, but silver," Britney said while looking at my spear.

"What do you think I based that weapon off of?"

"How about we fight while switching weapons?" Britney suggested. "Then I could train with all at the same time."

I thought about it for a little before agreeing, "Okay, but we'll have to kick the Campers out of the arena. If we are using _all_ of our weapons then that includes our arrows, and those require space."

I looked at my hunters with a sly grin that was quickly returned before they ran to the campers and started telling the instructors to leave. They argued for a while, but my hunters always had a way with convincing them to obey.

Some of the campers left frustrated, but some, including the instructors, went into the stands waiting their turn. Britney and I took to opposite sides as Thalia moved to the referee's box to give the signal.

"Lady Artemis, are you ready?"

"Yes."

"Britney, are you ready?"

"Yes?"

"Begin!"

I summoned my bow and started raining arrows onto Britney while slowly walking towards her. Britney shot a few high-speed arrows, which I dodged, but then quickly ducked behind her shield against my higher number of arrows.

' _She can't dodge,'_ Artemis thought. _'She doesn't have the confidence. Her lack of heighted battle reflexes that the other demigods have hinders her in more ways than I initially thought.'_

I switched my bow to my spear and sprinted over to Britney before jumping over her shield and extending my spear to attack. Britney did the natural thing, she formed another shied on her other side to block, sending me to the ground as her shield pushed back on my spear.

I landed in a crouching position and had to immediately roll to my left as Britney shot one spear at me and one to my right, controlling my reactions. I got to my feet and started running, avoiding the many arrows Britney fired.

' _She isn't aiming for me. She is intentionally shooting behind me so I can't stand still. And her arrows are shot both low and high, so I can't roll or jump over her arrows.'_

Britney kept with her arrows, but I noticed that one of the streams stopped, as she re-aimed her left hand far in front of me.

I was close to the wall and stopped as a massive disc embedded itself into the wall ahead. Another step and it would of hit me, but it was meant to hinder, not hurt.

I wrenched the shield out of the wall and blocked Britney's continuous arrows, but I forgot about her control over her copies as the shield disappeared from my hand, exposing me to the arrows fired at me. I summoned my spear and started to twirl it, blocking most of the arrows as I resumed circling Britney.

"I can block your arrows all day, little one. I am known for my speed."

I could see Britney smirk from across the arena as she switched her arrows into spears.

 _BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!_

Britney's silent weapons started sounding like explosions. As I dodged the spears, I noticed that her spears were breaking the arena walls, sending cracks up and down the walls the punctured.

I switched my spear into my knives, using the curved blades to direct the incoming spears to the side as I rand straight for her.

' _Why is she only shooting with one hand? She knows that I will beat her once I get close, is she baiting me?'_

I was a few yards away when she switched tactics, snapping her arm at me as a chain emerged from the abyss of her blaster. I blocked by instinct as regretted it as soon as the chains started wrapping around me.

Britney pulled on her chain with astounding force, but I realized it was the blaster reeling me in, not her. She had her other hand ready to fire something, but I wasn't sure what.

I felt a lot of pressure on my knives as noticed that the tips we poking through the links. I pulled back on the chains and sure enough, Britney stumbled towards me.

Britney spun with the momentum and dissipated her chains and met my knives with her own.

We started hand-to-hand combat, and Britney held her ground well. She mostly fought with her knives, but when she wasn't in a position to guard, she would switch her closer weapon to a shield, block any attack I tried to get in. She would occasionally shot both arrows and spears at close range, something I could not do myself, and would have to dodge giving her an opening.

This went on for a good amount of time, and I was surprised at how well she was holding up energy-wise, especially swinging those massive shields. I slowly raised the speed of my strikes, striking harder and faster with each blow.

Soon, I caught Britney's blasters with my knives and blocked enough of the opening to where she couldn't shoot anything else at me.

"Well, I guess I win. You are defenseless from this position: you can't shoot any of your weapons."

Britney gave an unnerving smile, "You don't know everything in my blasters, do you?"

I looked at her confused, "Sure I do. You have arrows, your spear, a chain, a shield, and those ancient knives."

"You weren't there for the last few things, and I haven't shown you all of them yet."

I cocked my head to the side and opened my mouth to ask what she was talking about, but I got a face full of water for my troubles.

"Ack! What was that?"

"I put water in my blaster for whenever I got thirsty. Apparently it has other uses."

We continued our fight, which was much more difficult now. Britney was able to use the water not only to disorient me, but also grab me, as if the water had hands.

She unleashed them similarly to her chains, but I couldn't block them the same way. If I slashed at the water it simply covered my hands, allowing Britney to pull me in close for a quick slash of her blades or a close shot with her spear or simply put me off balance.

She also shot random bursts of water at the dusty ground, turning it to mud that tripped me a lot more that her. When she got close to the mud, she could dispel the water at turn the mud to dry dirt.

I was getting frustrated; Britney had analyzed me to perfection. Use shield against bow, use chains and blades against spear, use fricking everything when I got too close, use water to disrupt the battle field, use the water to disorient me, arrows and spears too keep me away when she needed a breather. For a girl with no instincts she fought very well.

' _Her lack of ADHD helps her some ways and hinders her in others. She lacks battle instincts, so some moves lack confidence and she can't dodge well. On the other hand, she can focus with out getting tunnel vision, planning better that Athena's children, and can find counter methods quicker than most.'_

We kept on fighting and I kept on unleashing more of my godly power as I fought. My strikes grew in both speed and power as I pressed to see how far Britney could go.

Britney was quick, both with blocking and avoiding my attacks. She also unleashed her own in a quick manner, each weapon out for a spit-second before switching to another more suited to the immediate situation. Her movements flowed into her attacks, using the force of one move to power the next.

She also used her size in her favor. Usually being small meant using smaller weapons due to weight. But Britney's blasters made things weightless, so Britney could use a weapon of any size regardless of its weight. With some of her weapons being bigger than herself, she could attack with great range and defend her entire body at once.

I wanted to end this, so I summoned my bow and fired an arrow point-blank, something I hadn't risked until now. Britney pulled out her shield in a panic, something I had anticipated and had already switched to my knives and ran at my godly speed behind her, stopping with one knife at her neck and the other at her gut.

"Escape from this."

Britney had one arm in front of her with her shield out, her other was behind her back and was supposed to execute a move, but I had interrupted and pinned the arm behind her. Her blaster was constricted enough to where she couldn't separate us with her shield, something she had done to escape before, but loose enough to where her arrows and water couldn't affect me.

"There's still one thing you don't know about."

I tightened my grip a little, "Could you even use it?"

"Yep"

As she spoke a torrent of green flames rose between us. It didn't hit me, but the sheer heat forced me to lose my grip and Britney rolled in escape. I checked my clothes for damage and was happy to find none. I looked at Britney and saw a few flames on her back. She felt them and waved her hand over the flames and they dissipated into cinders while her hoodie mended it self.

"Why do you have Greek fire?"

"The fire trapped me in the tree. When I couldn't go any higher, I sucked in the flames to give Thalia more time."

Britney summoned her knives and stared at them for a few seconds before they ignited, covered in green fire.

"Stop!" I screamed. "You'll burn yourself!"

"No, I send the fire and heat away before it hurts me, so I'm fine."

"Are you sure, I don't want you burn your hands off."

Britney gave me a 'really' look at that.

"Arty, we already decided that you're not my mother, so stop acting like it."

I felt myself blush a little as I tried to come up with an excuse, "I treat all of the hunters as younger sisters, I don't want any of you dying on me."

Britney accepted the answer and got back in her stance with her flaming blades, "We're still sparring, right?"

I got in to my own stance with my spear equipped, "Of course."

We rushed each other and battled spear vs. knives. I was glad for the extra range because when I was too close a layer of sweat formed on my palms, making my weapon slide in my hands.

Britney switched one blade to a shield mid-swing and smacked my spear, putting me off balance. Then she threw a flaming chain to my right, forcing me to stumble left as I tried to regain my footing.

We kept going for a long time, and I would have one if the roman hadn't distracted me.

' _Come to the chariot, Grecian.'_

' _What fo-'_

I was cut-off in my telepathic conversation when Britney rammed me with her shield. As I stumbled backwards, I tripped on a chain she had looped around me. She fall on top of me with her shield covering my right arm and the majority of my torso, her left elbow stabbing my upper-right arm, and he blade in its attack form at my throat.

The arena went silent as we stayed frozen in that position. Losing a spar against a hunter was nothing new, but was not something any camper had seen. Furthermore, I had never lost the first spar with a hunter. Zoë beat me her second fight, but she had both the strength of her father and the grace of her mother. Britney, hopefully, got nothing from her father and I couldn't tell what she got from her mother, and what she learned herself.

"Do you yield?" Britney asked in a confused voice.

I squirmed a little, but Britney warmed her shield as a sign not to. I went limp and sighed, "I yield, thank Olympus that I lost to a girl."

"THE WINNER IS BRITNEY!" Thalia screamed from the referee's box, and the hunt took up the cheer while the campers were shocked. The hunters jumped out of the stands and ran over to Britney, swarming her with hugs and congratulations.

I picked myself off the ground and dusted off my hunting gown while the hunters started to calm down.

"I wonder if Desiree could control her water?" Lilly commented.

The hunters gave excited looks as they collectively shoved the official newest hunter to the front, next to Britney.

"Um, I guess they want you to make a water spout or something," Desiree suggested quietly.

Britney raised her arm at an angle and shot a stream of water that disappeared before it hit the ground.

"What, I don't want to create a lake in here."

Desiree tried to move the water, but nothing seemed to be happening.

"I'm sorry, I'm not that good with hydro kinesis."

"Maybe it's not you, maybe only I can control my water."

Britney dribbled a small stream of water into her mouth to re-hydrate while I pulled Thalia to the side.

"The Roman called me to the chariot, you can decide whether or not the Hunt stays here, but Britney will stay here until she leaves on her quest. Okay?"

"Did she say what she wanted?"

"No, and Britney cut me off before I could ask."

Thalia smiled, "Sure, blame your other half for your loss."

I glared at her, "Hey, I can't control when someone invades my mind, especially her. Now either make an executive decision of talk to the hunters about staying, but do something."

Thalia nodded and ran off to gather the hunters while Britney sparred with Percy. Britney was either winning, or Percy was feeling her up.

I ran deep into the woods before flashing to the lunar chariot to meet my other half.

"What do you want, _Roman?_ " I said once I reformed.

The person in question looked over her shoulder to see me before looking back to the sky.

"There you are. I saw you get beat by your 'hunter'. You're losing your touch."

"You distracted me, and I wasn't going full force. I don't want to hurt her."

"Excuses. Anyways, as fun and easy as it is to annoy you, this _is_ a business call. _My_ father told me to tell you that the girl must start her quest by the full moon, otherwise, your father will force her."

"What! But that's less than a week!"

"Hmm, time flies, doesn't it. You best be going now, the girl will need much training. Although, she can beat you, so maybe not so much."

"Oh, shut up Diana. You're just salty because you drive the lunar chariot more than I do."

"Salty, that's a new one. Anyways, Lupa's the one that brought this up to my father, and you don't want to mess with her. Now go break the news to the girl before it's too late."

I gave one last glare before vanishing back to the forest where I had left.

* * *

 **Done. You can try to guess what final thing Britney will obtain. Thanks for reading. Got lots of homework. Bye.**

 **Goodbye and good luck.**

 **-B.D.S.**

 **Created October 18, 2016.**

 **Edited November 10, 2016**


	15. The Beginning

**Someone asked me why Britney doesn't act her age. I tried to imply that through her memories, but she acts more mature because acting immature caused her to receive punishment, and she didn't like that. If you guys want me to answer questions at the start of a chapter like this instead of me sending you a message, tell me please.**

* * *

(Britney)

I was sparring with Percy, and he didn't appreciate my water. For one, he couldn't devote his attention to blocking, attacking, and controlling random bursts of water. He ended up getting lots of water to the face. He also choked on the water, which was new for him. He said that he could breath underwater, but I wasn't seeing it. I ended up beating him when I caught his sword in by blade and had a spear at his throat.

"I yield, you're really good."

"Thank you," I replied as I released his weapon and he returned it to its pen form.

"Can you shoot a continuous stream of water? Maybe I could control it then."

"We tried that with your sister, but sure."

I shot a stream of water the same way as before, and the same thing happened.

"Why can't I control it?" he asked frustrated.

"Maybe because it's not actually water, but a copy."

"It still hydrates you, right?"

"Yeah."

"Well maybe it's just your water, so only you can control it. It's probably the same with your fire."

I summoned a small ember as watched it dance, think how it could of killed me. Earlier this week, I was stuck in a burning tree. Soon I'll have to leave and go on a quest.

I looked up at the night sky and watched the full moon float among the stars.

' _Hi, mom, I hope I get to meet you soon. Will you remember me?"_

The Hunt had decided to stay until I left, but Artemis had been acting awkward around me. She was currently driving the moon, she said something about giving her other half a break, but she avoided me when she was around. Thalia said that she gets like this when she drives the moon, but I didn't think that was the only thing. That wouldn't explain why she was only avoiding me.

My thoughts shattered as a loud note pierced the quiet air.

"Percy! What's going on?" I screamed over the pulsing notes.

"A god is coming, by Hestia's hearth, the god is Zeus."

"How do you know?" I was able to talk a lot quieter since the blasts ceased.

"The notes, pulses, duration, it's stuff they teach the councilors and instructors, don't worry about it."

We covered our eyes until another note sounded, then made our way to Hestia's hearth. My new wolf followed once we exited the arena.

This wolf was less than a week old, but it was already weaned and ready for minor battles. Each hunter gets a newborn wolf pup once they become a hunter. The wolf serves as their partner in hunts and battles, and some of a hunter's training is working with your wolf to fend off monsters. When it was decided that I would be a hunter if not for the quest, the wolf decided to be born anyway, leaving me stuck with him for eternity. I named him 'Puppy'.

When we arrived, I could tell that not everyone had decided to show up. It _was_ almost midnight after all. The entire Hunt was there, but that was probably because Zeus was talking to Artemis.

"Daughter," Zeus spoke in a calm voice that I had never heard before. "I know you care for the child but you must let her go. Having her this long is bad enough, you're just making it worse."

"She's not ready." Artemis cried while stamping her foot. At the age of twelve, it kind of looked like a tantrum. "She barely knows anything about the mortal world and even less about the Greek one. Sending her now would be like sending her to her death."

I decided that this would be a good time to announce myself before the situation got any worse.

"Hey, Arty. I kind of heard that."

Artemis sun around to see me standing there very awkwardly, as I had just become the center of attention, which was usually not a good thing for me.

"How much did you hear?"

"Oh, not much. Why is me being here so bad?"

Artemis winced a little and couldn't think of an answer, so Zeus provided one instead.

"The problem is your heritage. There are a few people who believe that your mother is a Roman goddess. Because of this, I have been sent here to send you on your quest where you will follow the path of every Roman before you, and Percy.

I looked at Percy after hearing the last words, but he just shook his head signaling for me to wait. Speaking of which, Annabeth never did tell me that story.

"Father," Artemis pleaded. "She can't go at night, you should know that."

Zeus shook his head, "You were told to send her on her way a week ago. You could have avoided this but instead, you avoided Britney."

"It's okay Arty," I resorted to using her nickname to try and make her less sad. "I wanted to leave at night anyway."

Zeus smiled at that, "Then it's settled. Britney will leave now to begin her journey. Because of the theory that this is a quest that Britney must complete without help or guidance, Camp Half-Blood will not be responsible for providing the usual aid of drachma, mortal currency, and a ride to New York City. Britney will leave before the new day. Dismissed."

"Wait, but what if I don't want to leave yet? Artemis was right when she said I don't know anything about the world. And I think society is against little girls wandering the country without anyone helping her."

I was so scared to leave. At first, a quest seemed like a lot of fun. But then people started telling me stories about quest they had. About the monsters they faced, about the terrors they experienced, about the people who _died_. These people had friends they could trust to help them along their way and bad things happened, meanwhile I would have no one! Not a single person could help me without unseen consequences. No one else could even hear the stupid prophecy! I don't even know what all of those words _mean_ , not to mention that most prophecies have double meanings. I didn't know what a 'foe' was, or what 'destined' meant. How was this supposed to be possible!

"That is not my problem," Zeus spoke in a smug voice. "This is something you will have to face alone."

"But Father-"

"BUT NOTHING!" Zeus screamed as he smacked Artemis away with his Master Bolt. Artemis herself went flying into the side of Hestia's hearth. She didn't get back up.

"What did you do?" I screamed with tears in my eyes. Several hunters went to check on their mistress while others formed a defensive ring.

"What I should have done when you were first assigned this quest. My daughter won't usurp this quest any longer. If I must, I will keep her under house arrest."

Zeus readied his Master Bolt and prepared to fire at the hunters. Thalia summoned her shield as many hunters did the same, determined to protect their leader. The campers ran.

"Move out of the way, daughter."

"No!" Thalia spoke defiantly. "I swore an oath to protect Lady Artemis, I will not abandon her to the hands of a male. Plus, the ancient laws protect me. You can't harm me."

Zeus shook his head, "The ancient laws have been broken before. As long as there is good reason, laws can be broken again."

With his final words, he fired the large bolt of destruction at the hunters. I don't know what came over me, but I somehow managed to flip the switches on my blasters and start vacuuming at the space between the lightning and Thalia.

The bolt arched towards me as it became trapped by the vortex I had created. The lightning wanted to escape, but I wouldn't let it. I forced the bolt into my blaster and altered the switches once more after I was done.

"WHAT GOOD REASON IS THERE TO SHOOT YOUR OWN DAUGHTERS?" I screamed.

Zeus glared at me, "What did you do to my lightning, girl?"

I went livid at that. I understood why he asked that, I would too if put into his position, but the way he said 'girl' as if I was beneath him. Which I was, he's a god while I'm just a demigod, but still. It reminded me too much of my father. I decided to answer his question in the least verbal and most aggressive way possible. I shot some lightning at him.

The lightning would have hit him in the face, I think, but Hestia went and intercepted it with a harsh flame.

"Britney," Hestia said in a very calm voice considering the situation. "It would not be wise to attack my younger brother. Once you do, he is allowed to attack you with full force without consequence."

"Britney," Artemis asked shakily after finally regaining her footing. "Did you just copy Zeus's Bolt?"

"Um, I think so."

Every one was shocked at this. After Percy whispered a few things into my ear, I figured out that I had somehow copied the god's most powerful weapon.

"How dare you create a duplicate of my power?" Zeus roared.

"I wanted to protect the hunters, what I did was the only way I knew would work. The lightning seemed a bit much for a shield."

Zeus's eyes went electric as he pointed his bolt at me. Light emanated from the object as he fired, and just stood there like an idiot. I didn't even summon a shield. I just waited for the painful blast that would send me flying, possibly into something, and my landing would cause even more pain.

However, nothing like that happened. I slowly opened my eyes and saw that Zeus was empty handed. He looked at me as if wondering why I was still there, and then seemed to notice that the light was not emitted because he was firing, it had shone because it had flashed away.

"WHAT DID YOU DO NOW?" Zeus roared, ready to walk over and punt me across the camp.

"She did nothing, little one. I just couldn't let you hurt her with your little toys. That's reserved for someone else. Anyway, I did away with your little plaything. If you're good, I'll think about giving it back."

The voice was feminine but didn't seem to have an owner. The voice just projected itself from everything and anything. The earth, the sky, the shadows, even the buildings generated her sound.

"Show yourself." Zeus demanded while spinning around, trying to find something out of place.

The demigods and Hunters were looking as well, weapons drawn eyes and ears open.

"That's no way to speak to your elders." The voice still came from everywhere, but it was stronger towards the direction of the cabins. "I am your great-grandmother after all."

There were many different reactions, panic being the prevailing one. Zeus was pale along with Artemis and the Hunt. Most of the Athena demigods were also panicking. Most of the other campers were just at the ready, trying to calm everyone down. And then there were the ones like me, standing stoically waiting for something interesting to happen.

A dark abyss formed in the center of the cabins. Well, not center. It was thirty feet up so we had our necks at an awkward angle in order to watch the phenomenon. The abyss slowly took a humanoid shape, arms and legs formed form the misty sky-chasm and a woman slowly appeared from nothing.

She looked human enough, but there were so many weird things. She was tall and pale, not as pale as me though, only albinos could beat me there. She also had pitch-black hair that flowed about halfway down her body.

That was one of the things that stuck me as off. My brother had also been lighter than Father, but had much darker hair. And based on what he had told me about pigment, that wasn't right.

The woman wore a long, sleeve-less dress that was cut on the side, revealing her left leg. The dress stopped right above her ankles, displaying matching black heals that had some of the Aphrodite girls jealous.

"My, Tartarus _was_ right!" the woman spoke. "It is _so_ nice to have a physical form. I haven't been like this since I had children."

"How did you get past the barrier?" Annabeth asked with her weapon drawn.

"Oh, that? I am the ultimate creator; I simply appeared out of what has been made."

"Um, who are you exactly?" Percy asked.

"Why I am the Creator of All. Daughter of Chronos and Ananke, mother to Gaia, Tartarus, Eros, Erebus, and Nyx, I am Chaos, Goddess of the Void."

"RETURN MY BOLT, WOMAN!" Zeus screamed.

"No. You don't deserve such a fine creation." Chaos turned her head away and caught eye of one of Jason's statues.

"Who made such creations? I hope I get one as well made as this."

I wasn't paying much attention to what was happening around me. I was thinking of the prophecy and what little Annabeth taught me of Greek Mythology. This lady was the Creator of All, and according to my prophecy, the one I had to defeat. Percy had told me all of the things they had to do in order to beat Gaia, and this was her mother. She radiated pure power, how was I supposed to fight her?

She looked around a little more before looking at me.

"Oh, I know you. You received a prophecy a while back, didn't you?"

I stumbled back in shock, _'How did she know that?'_

"A prophecy?" one of the campers shouted. "We haven't had one of those in a while."

"Do you still remember the lines, little one?" Chaos asked me. "The unclaimed child must go west, alone, and on the way, be joined by friend and foe. To find her mother she must conquer the creator of all, to trust too much or too little, will destine her fall. And although this may take long to pass, the unclaimed child will be claimed at last. I'm not to keen on being conquered."

Percy whispered in my ear, "Why is she staring at you like that?"

I was too stunned to answer. I finally find someone else that can understand the prophecy, and it's my prophesized adversary.

"They can't here it, can they?" Chaos squealed while clapping with excitement. "Wow, you really are alone!"

Artemis wasn't pleased with that statement, "She'll never be alone, I'll protect her myself if I have to."

"Oh, but you won't be able to. In a few seconds, anyone who knows what their creators will be trapped in time. A little gift from my father."

A golden dome materialized around the camp's borders, freezing everyone in the positions they were in.

"Oh my! It seems that only you and your pup remained unaffected. You must have been the only unclaimed child. The young ones actually _are_ doing better."

I looked down at Puppy to see him curled around my legs in fear, ears down and eyes wide.

"What happened?" I couldn't hide the terror in my voice as I looked at the one sentient beings frozen in the gold-tinted light.

"Everyone that was frozen knows what, or rather who, created them." Chaos explained. "You, however, don't know whom your mother is and was left unaffected. Your pup is too young to understand the concept of birth. I was about five minutes off. You better get him out of here or he will be stuck like the rest of them."

"Why would you do this?" I cried, my voice breaking as my eyes teared up in despair.

"Isn't it obvious." Chaos laughed vilely. "I can't let these little rascals give you any more help. You are supposed to be alone after all. This will serve as a nice lesson to convince you not to seek help again."

I looked at the frozen faces of the people I knew, tears shedding for all of them.

"You better hurry or you'll lose your wolf."

I picked up puppy and ran into the forest. Away from both the ones I loved and the one who harmed them.

' _It's just like before. Except this time there is a lot more people that I can't help. I'm sorry, I'll come back for you.'_

I felt Puppy tense as I kept running through the forest. I quickened my pace as flashbacks from a night like this one raced through my mind, as did the events that occurred the next day.

' _She's not going to kill them, right?'_

I had no time to worry as I kept running. I climbed the last slope and slowed to a halt as the land changed from its unnatural golden color to the silver tint the moon shone. I looked up to see the moon high and full, remembering the awful moments that happened the last time I saw the moon like that.

' _I will save you, all of you.'_

I slid to the ground with my back against a tree, staring at the golden dome. Puppy curled up in my lap and tried to convince my hand to pet him, but my hand would not listen. My mind was too occupied with the fact that I had finally seen something as bad as my brother's death. Only this time, I couldn't fight off the attacker.

* * *

 **Well this was shorter than I expected, but I hope you enjoyed it. It took longer than I wanted, but some things can't be helped. I would like to hear your thoughts on Chaos being an enemy rather than the over-powered ally most people make her/him out to be. Thanks for reading.**

 **Goodbye and good luck.**

 **-B.D.S**

 **Created on November 2, 2016.**

 **Edited on November 10, 2016.**


	16. The Journey

**I love all of the support that is given by all of you wonderful people. I'm glad that you enjoy this story.**

* * *

(Britney)

I woke from the sun blaring in my face. It was a beautiful golden color but was way too harsh on my retinas. I covered my eyes and blinked rapidly as I looked to the light before realizing that it wasn't the sun causing the gold light, but an unnatural golden dome. I felt a shifting in my lap and looked to see my wolf staring back at me.

Then the memories came crashing in.

I remembered Chaos causing, well, chaos. She created the golden dome, claiming it to be a gift from her father whoever that was. It froze anyone who knew his or her parents, leaving only my wolf and I able to move. I wanted to save some of the campers or Hunters or anyone, but I had to get Puppy out as fast as I could before he froze as well. I had already tried to go back in, but I couldn't. Even the leaves that fell in the harsh winds slide down the sides of the dome.

Puppy started whining and trying to get my attention, so I started petting him with a gloved hand.

"Come on, Puppy. We need to go find you some water since my blaster water won't actually hydrate you."

I slowly stood up, giving my wolf plenty of time to jump off my lap and wait patiently for me to pick a direction.

"Um, where do we go exactly?" I asked my wolf, not expecting an answer but still listening to see if he could talk like some mythical creature.

With Puppy simply sitting at my side, panting and wagging his tail, I sighed and started walking away from the frozen camp.

.oOo.

Puppy was running along side me as we ran along a nearby road. The road was barely visible through the trees, but between the occasional sound of a car and the obvious gray strip noticeable when the trees thinned for a moment kept us on track.

As we ran, Puppy was slowly lagging behind. He did his best to keep up, but the lack of food or water was taking its toll on him. In the distance, I saw large gray towers poking over the trees in the distance. The rising sun was still behind me, so we were going the right way, but I didn't like the looks of the place.

It reminded me of my old home.

.oOo.

"All right Puppy," I stupidly asked my wolf. "What's the plan?"

Puppy didn't even shift in my arms to look at me. He had given up on walking an hour before, and I had resorted to using some of my water to cool him off. He still needed to drink.

We were beneath a bridge looking across the water at the blocky, gray, and loud place ahead of us. I had tried to get Puppy to drink the river water, but he wouldn't. And after a look at the water myself, I didn't blame him.

The bridge above us was laden with cars, and I didn't want to walk amongst them. Then there were the people who would undoubtedly question a little girl holding a wolf-pup. I had already had to avoid people while walking through the city behind me, and Elijah's warning about rape was still fresh in my mind.

"Well, I guess we'll have to risk it."

Puppy turned his head to look at me.

"What? It's not like we have another choice. I can't swim, and you can barely move! And the water's nasty."

Puppy just whined.

"We tried to get water from there, it didn't work. We need money, and we don't have any. Plus, I can't bring you into these stores to find a water fountain."

Puppy turned his head down river. I followed his line of sight to a small wooden boat a small distance away.

As I walked towards the boat, my hopes crumbled.

The boat was big enough, but ridded with small holes that wouldn't allow it to float. It lacked any sort of oar or even a seat. It was far from sea-worthy.

"Puppy, that won't work."

I was met with a howl. After a few seconds of howling, Puppy squirmed in my arms until I had no choice but to put him on the ground.

"What exactly do you plan on accomplishing?"

Puppy was currently trying his absolute hardest to push the boat several yards to the shore. He had only accomplished moving the rocks and sand under his feet.

After seeming to give up, Puppy looked from me to the boat.

"I can't push that!" I cried. "The thing's as big as me!"

Puppy ran to the murky water. As I chased him and told him not to go into the water, he ran until his legs were submerged and the current was sweeping his tail.

"What are you doing? That water's gross, get out!"

Puppy barked and made his tail splash in the water before letting the river control it again.

"You want me to push the boat with water?"

Puppy yapped in excitement and bounded over to the boat before jumping in. He placed his paws on the bow to look at me and bark.

"All right, I get it," I muttered as I made my way to the boat.

I sat down in the center of the boat, trying to think of a way to move it.

' _I can't push it from the outside, or it will float away without me.'_

I noticed the small holes in the boat's hull. That's when I got an idea.

I shot water through the holes, but kept a strong hold the liquid. I fed enough water to where the boat was floating on an aquatic cube. Then, I moved the water. It took a lot of concentration, and I had to add water as we went, but the boat floated to the shore and into the river.

Once at the river, I kept my hold on the water. If I let the boat float on the river, we would be swept astray. We floated above the water, and I had to resupply even more as the river swept my water away, but we made it across.

"Whew, that was too much concentration for this quest," I sighed before falling back against the bow of the boat.

With a loud crack, the wooden hull snapped under pressure and left me awkwardly lying on the ground. Puppy walled over to me and curled on my chest, the little jerk.

"Get off of me!" as jokingly yelled as I shoved my wolf off my chest. I rolled on top of him and put enough weight to pin him, but not crush him.

"Don't like it do- YUCK!"

My taunting was cut short once Puppy decided to like my face. I swear his tongue went into my mouth. I quickly jumped up and glared as Puppy rolled onto his paws and wagged his tail. My resolve crumbled once he let out a small yap.

"Come on, let's go find you a drink."

.oOo.

The city was big, loud, busy, and an overall terrifying experience. I was holding Puppy as we searched around for a place that would let my wolf have a drink. No one did. I even asked someone who was walking her own dog. They told me to go beg to my parents. I didn't correct them.

I was wandering the streets, dodging people, avoiding cars, and navigating through the many construction zones. Then I saw something out of the ordinary. Trees!

I ran towards the trees and found them to be surrounding a small playground. Then I heard music. I looked around and saw an older man playing the drums with his hands on various containers. He had a hat in front of his set-up and I saw someone drop a coin in.

I slowly walked over and waited for a few seconds before he took a small break.

"Excuse me," I almost whispered. Thankfully, he heard me.

"What do you want?" he snapped, causing me to flinch.

"Um, I-I j-just w-want t-to b-borrow a-a quarter. I'll g-give it right b-back plus more, but I n-need one first."

The man glared at me and leaned back a little. "How do I know you won't run off? This is my well earned money."

"Please, I just need one for a second. I'll give it back."

The man glared at me before giving a nod, "Take one. You can have it for a minute."

"Thank you!"

I reached down and grabbed a silver coin. I adjusted my blasters and quickly copied a quarter before pulling back out the original. I dropped the quarter back into the hat and barely stood up before he spoke.

"Where's the extra?"

I looked at him with a bit of confusion.

"You said you'd give me more, unless you plan on paying with your body."

I was instantly terrified by his smirk, so I retracted my hand and shot several quarters out of my hidden blaster. To him, it looked like money was just spilling out of my sleeve. The man looked at me with a glare.

"That's not enough."

I forced a lump down my throat, "How much more do you want?"

The man smiled evilly and stood, "It's not your money that I want. Surely you know how pretty you are. You could make a lot of money with a body like that."

My brother's words flashed in my mind, and I quickly pulled up a shield to block his hand. As he cried out in pain, I dismissed my shield and held a spear out to his neck.

"Whoa, now. Let's not do anything hasty."

I stepped back while extending the spear to its greatest length. I quickly dismissed the spear and picked up Puppy before sprinting away.

"Hey! Get back here!"

As I ran, an idea for revenge came to mind. I swept my hand behind me and smiled as the man screamed for his sudden loss of funds.

' _Serves him right.'_

.oOo.

I was a slightly lost in the city. Because the sun was at its high point, I was using the super tall buildings as a guide. I would occasionally ask which way west was, and answered the I was going home if they asked why, so I knew I was headed in the right direction.

I took a small drink out of the water bottle I had bought from a food cart. I wanted to buy some food, but I didn't want to buy it in all quarters. The vendor was suspicious enough when I bought the water. Then there was the fact that once the register drawer slid shut I dissipated the quarters, so I actually stole the water.

We were walking through the city and suddenly there was a massive green area. There were trees and grass and bushes and people running and playing and all sorts of things. There was a grand arch that read 'CENTRAL PARK' made of twisted iron.

"You want to go in there?" I asked Puppy while he wagged his entire back half in excitement.

Puppy gave a yap of approval and we walked across the road to the park.

The park was beautiful, but there were too many people for me to relax. They would always stare at me. Then there were other weird things.

I saw a few teenage girls, but their skin was green with strangely colored hair (not that I had much room to talk) and they would _melt_ into trees. They would touch a specific tree and vanish into it. Sometimes Puppy would bark at one and they would turn into a shower of leaves or petals. It was weird.

There were also these dogs. At least, they looked like dogs the size of freaking bears! They were pitch black with red eyes and constantly stayed in the shadows. Sometimes, they would melt into a shadow and vanish only to appear from another shadow a distance away. Puppy didn't like them, which was enough for me to stay away.

I resorted to climbing through the trees like a squirrel. It was a skill I had picked up while playing with my brother, and it helped keep me away from the people. They hadn't seen me for a while as I traversed over their heads.

Then I saw the most adorable thing: a tiny golden kitten.

Well, it was kind of hard to see from my view in the tree, but there was a mewling ball of golden fluff surrounded by the massive dogs. The dogs formed a circle around the kitten and one would occasionally dart in and swat at the little animal, causing it to roll along the ground. One tried to bite it, but the dog reeled back in pain.

I thought the kitten would be hurt, but it looked fine. Disoriented, but fine.

Another dog went to lunge at the kitten, and I didn't even know that I would react. One second the hound was about to swipe at the golden ball, the next at spear was lodged into the ground and the hound turned into a pile of dust.

The monsters turned to face me and started to run. Using several more spears, I thinned out the herd until only a few more were left.

I used an orb of water similar to when I controlled the boat to safely fall back to the ground. I landed square on a dog's back with my shield, forcing it into the ground.

Annabeth's words echoed as I hesitated. _'Out there, monsters will come after you. They will try to kill you. If you want to live, you need to destroy them first.'_

I shook my head to re-concentrate and turned my shield into a blade that I slashed the hound with. The dog gave a roar of pain that was cut short with a spear through the head.

Another hound lunged at me as I brought out both blades. I sidestepped to the left and slashed at its neck before driving the left blade behind its shoulder and retracted my weapons as it turned to dust. I dismissed my right blade and summoned a shield as a monstrous jaw was about to clamp onto my arm. The shield caught on the massive teeth as it quickly expanded to full size, ripping the jaw off the monster in a spilt second. A quick arrow to what was left of the head finished it off for good.

I spun around at the sound of a bark, where the last two hounds cornered Puppy. I shot a spear at the farther one, killing it, before charging at the second one. I would have shot it as well, but Puppy was in the same line and I didn't want to hurt him.

Then, a golden flash appeared from the side and rammed into the hound. It was a little funny to see a fluff-ball smash into something twenty times its size. While the hound was disoriented, Puppy and the kitten darted around and attacked at anything in their reach. The hound's movement slowed until it collapsed and the two animals were just slashing at it's back without resistance. I ended the monster's misery with an arrow to the head.

The two animals looked at little down when their plaything disintegrated, and I laughed when their tails drooped in disappointment.

Puppy immediately perked up and ran at me, demanding to be petted. As I petted my wolf, the cat approached warily.

"It's okay," I called to the kitten. "I won't hurt you."

I extended my hand to the cat, and it quickly nuzzled against it and walked closer. Needless to say, I was sitting on the ground stroking both animals for quite some time.

After some close inspection, I found out that the kitten was a girl. And her fur was also very hard, like metal, and it poked at my skin if I rubbed it the wrong way.

I held up the kitten at arms length, "I think I'll name you Kitty.

The kitten stared blankly before convulsing into a sneeze. I laughed as I placed Kitty down before stroking her fur.

Her fur was strangely metallic, and was prickly if I rubbed it the wrong way. She didn't seem to know about her fur's qualities as Kitty pressed her head into my hand in a demand for attention. Puppy, obviously jealous, did the same to the other hand.

After a few minutes, I stood up and stretched. Kitty stretched with me while Puppy planted his paws on my leg in an attempt for more attention.

"Puppy, we need to go," I whined. "We don't have all day."

I swear he pouted as he dropped his front paws back to the earth. I looked around for Kitty and saw her pawing at a blue bag.

The bag was made for a school kid, and its contents were scattered around. There was mostly food and fabric, not the usual things found in a bag like that. There was also a rip on the top near the zipper.

"What's that you got there?"

Kitty mewed at me as I approached before continuing to paw salvageable items into a pile at the mouth of the bag. After creating a pile of the decent scraps, she crawled into the bag before mewing at me.

I crouched down and looked into the bag. There were still a few things in the bag, and the inside had tufts of golden fur strewn about.

"Is this your home?"

Kitty simply curled up on a small pile of fabric and flicked her tail-tip over her nose. I had to cover my mouth to quell the cuteness-induced squeal bubbling up my throat.

I pushed the pile that Kitty had created into the bag and was met with a surprised meow. Then I grabbed a curious Puppy and shoved him in as well. After a few seconds of shuffling, I peeked in to see both animals curled up into little balls of fluff. I couldn't even see most of the things I had put in.

I zipped the bag shut, but there was still a 3-inch hole by the zipper. I lifted the bag effortlessly and sling it onto my back. When the bag stopped moving, I knew my pets were situated and I resumed my journey through the park and into the city beyond.

.oOo.

The city wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. The streets were designed like a grid, so I just picked one that went west and followed it until it ended. Then I would walk up or down the perpendicular street until I found another westbound one to follow.

I was also happily munching on a bag of chips. I had seen Kitty pull jerky out of nowhere, so I did the same and got some chips out of it. I waved it off as the bag being magical, like my blasters.

There weren't that many people out, neither driving nor walking. I had seen little pedestrians and only a handful of cars. It was nothing like I had expected when Percy told me stories about the place.

Percy said that it was loud, and it was until I got out of the park. He told me that there were people everywhere and both perpetual traffic and construction. It was like that on the other side of the park, and there were still a lot of construction zones, but the number of people was lacking. It was unnerving.

I froze when I heard the unmistakable sound of a glass bottle tapping against a wall. I rolled the top of the very large bag of chips and unzipped the bag to put it away. While it was unzipped, both of my pets jumped out and stood next to me. Their company reassured me.

"Let's keep moving. We need to leave this city."

I started walking, my pace quicker than earlier. After a few seconds, Kitty gave a loud hiss and I spun to see her leap high into the air to intercept a green projectile. The glass shattered and Kitty landed back on the ground with no more than a fierce glare.

"Kitty! Are you okay?"

I looked up at the sound of laughter. A few older boys were standing at about ten meters away, laughing hysterically at my outburst.

"You should check on your cat," The leader said to me after regaining his composure. "Little kitty might have an owie."

I could tell by his tone that he was mocking me, and I had to gather a bit of confidence before talking back.

"Oh I'm sure she's fine. A little boy like you couldn't have thrown anything _that_ hard." I gave a small smirk before continuing my insult, "Although, you probably threw it harder than you could ever be."

The leader tried to look as confident as ever, but I could see his eye twitching. He flicked his wrist and the boys next to him took a few strides toward me. I heard my pets give growls of warning as even more stepped out of small alleyways and came from behind other obstructers.

I turned slowly as I assessed the situation. There were easily twenty males ranging in both age and size. Apparently it was a boys only group.

"You see little girl," I turned back around and saw the leader two yards away. "You're on our turf, and we don't take insults from little kids like you. So either you take back you said, hand over your bag, and go back the way you came. Or, we treat you like any other uninvited guest."

I drew in my left hand while trying to think of a quip to throw off the leader. I looked to the side for inspiration before smirking with an idea.

"I don't see any girls, do you just get off on each other or what?"

The leaders eyes burned with anger and he took a step closer while uncrossing his arms. And gave me the opening I needed.

I snapped my wrist out and sent a water chain at him. Naturally, he raised his arms to block– but the chain solidified was around his neck and fused into a noose with the end link connected with another link before he could react.

The circle of teenagers started to close in, but I stopped them by drawing in some of the chain and brought their weakening and choking leader to his knees.

"Nu-ah-ah," I chided. "Come any closer and you'll be without a leader."

The boy that was right of the leader when they first appeared took a step. I responded by lighting the first two feet of chain on fire. The sight of the blaze caused them to all take a step back.

"What the hell!"

"How did she do that?"

"I'll do more if you don't back off!" I screamed.

I swept my gaze across the group, staring them all down. When one looked a little too feisty for my tastes, I ignited a few more links.

"Now," I gave the chain a small tug to bring the leader's eyes to my own. "I'm keeping my stuff, and am going to walk where I please. You understand?"

The boy nodded furiously, but I gave one final tug to bring his face to the ground before dissipating my flaming chain.

I turned my back to the leader and resumed walking west.

"Let's go, you two."

When I could hear the pitter-patter of my pet's paw on concrete, I held my head a little higher as I walked through the ring of males knowing that my pets would always be with me. I left the group without any trouble, and was glad that I could handle something like that. I did, however, remember something about not messing with mortals.

I continued down the several roads and smiled happily as the city started to thin out. The eerie silence was still there, and I was expecting something major to happen.

I wish I hadn't been right.

Puppy gave a quick bark before tackling me to the ground, despite the size difference. Then I heard the all too familiar sound of glass shattering above me. I heard the shards hit my hoodie and bag, but they were too slow to do any damage.

I stood up and saw the same group of teenagers walking towards me. I didn't want to deal with them again so I simply turned and walked away while thinking. Puppy and Kitty were close behind.

Those boys were too far away to have thrown the bottle at me, so who did?

A few seconds later, my shield sprang out and I heard glass shatter again. I dismissed my shield to see glass on the ground, but no person who would have thrown it.

I hastened my pace while shooting a quick glance over my shoulder. I could still see the group of boys, but more people were with them.

I came to a crossing and stopped as I saw a horde of people walking towards me. I looked to my left and right and saw the same. It was like the entire city was in that one intersection.

I could here them whispering as they got closer. I was not in the center of the crossing with Puppy and Kitty at my side. Their voices were getting louder and louder to where I could make out the one word they were repeating over and over.

" _Revenge!"_

I looked around frantically and recognized several faces. There was the group of teenagers, the man with the hat, even the vendor I had stolen from. I was almost spinning in circles trying to find a way out when my eyes landed on a familiar face.

There was a slightly older woman; she couldn't have been over 50. She had long brown hair with a bit of noticeable gray. Her eyes were a striking blue, but it was her facial structure that recognized.

I knew, without a doubt, that I was staring at Percy's mother.

I had seen her before in a picture Percy had shown me, and right there next to her was Paul.

I swept the crowd a little more and found Annabeth's family. All of them giving me a death glare.

Every person there was glaring at me for some reason or another, and I was finding it harder and harder to look away until a bright light shone from above.

I looked to the quickly darkening sky and saw a woman floating sideways. She was positioned as if she was standing on the ground, but she was looking down at me.

"Who are you?" I cried, almost literally as I felt guilty for all of the hatred being poured out at me.

The woman laughed, "You know that golden dome over the Greeks? Oh of course you do! Anyway, the color reminds me of a certain piece of fruit named after me."

I searched through my mind, thinking of myths involving fruit.

"Discordia!" I gasped.

Discordia smiled, "My, my! I wouldn't have thought you were at that camp long enough to know about me."

"What do you want?"

"Look around little one. I made three Olympians go for each other's throats with an apple; did you think it would be so much effort to send a mortal city after you? This city has so much hate strewn about, I just had to center it around you to make them all come running."

I aimed my blaster at her, wanting to shoot that grin off her face.

"Go ahead little one, see how far you get with an attack like that."

My arm went limp with realization. Once I attack, she can attack with all her might.

I dropped my gaze and noticed the ever-rising moon. Just seeing it made me smile.

"I'll find you, mother." I whispered before turning, scooping Puppy and Kitty into my bad, and bolting straight towards the approaching crowd.

I raised my arm and shot a small bolt of lightning at the mass of people. I watched as the bolt jumped from person to person, knocking each one out.

I jumped into the air and summoned an orb of water to carry me over the unconscious bodies. When I was at the limits of my concentration, I dissipated the orb and hit the ground running.

I didn't stop until the city was out of sight.

* * *

 **(3** **rd** **person)**

Lupa stood at the center of the council. She was furious that her efforts to speak to Jupiter were thwarted time and time again over the months. She had received many demigods in the months that had passed since she spoke to Jupiter, but none were the Moon's Child. It was now the winter season, the child should have been on her way to New Rome by now.

"He is the King of the Gods, under what circumstance could he _not_ find time to see me?" Lupa growled.

Jupiter's throne was empty, as was Diana's and Dionysus, so the woman to what should have been Jupiter's left answered for him.

"My husband is in no state for visitors." The woman said hesitantly. "You'll have to excuse-"

"I AM FED UP WITH YOUR EXCUSES!" Lupa roared.

The woman's eyes flared with anger, "Watch your tone, wolf."

Lupa bowed her head, "My apologies, but I have been fed the same excuses for months. I hope you don't expect me to roll over and take anything but the truth."

The woman's eyes softened. "It is poor judgment to reveal why a King is ill, but I will tell you that him, Diana, and Dionysus are gone for the same reason. I'm sure they would be here if they were able."

Lupa nodded in understanding. "Do you know the situation with the girl?"

Apollo cleared his throat, "She is well on her way, but has not had fortunate travels. Her wolf and the Nemean lion cub help her fend off monsters, but humans are being manipulated and turned against her. She doesn't kill them, at most knocks them unconscious or simply runs and evades. She made it to California yesterday; should be at your House later today."

Lupa bowed. "Thank you, I'll take my leave now."

She was waved off and made it to the door before the woman called to her again, "Why do you care?"

Lupa turned in confusion. "Pardon?"

"You typically don't show the same concern Chiron does for demigods. Why the sudden change?"

Lupa gave a wolfish grin, "Lady Juno, you know as well as I do the importance of children of prophecy. The girl cannot fall now, she has too many things to do first."

With that final word, Lupa walked out of the throne room and left the council to their own devices.

Apollo sighed as the door closed. "Finally, I thought it would take more to get her out of here."

"She has a point, nephew." The voice came from the normally quiet girl tending the hearth. "Many gods are worried about the state of their king. And the mortals notice when the moon is in disarray."

"What do you expect us to do Vesta?" Juno asked frantically. "The Greek camp is frozen in time! We are no match for Father Time and the Creator. Their Greek forms are stuck there and left their Roman forms incapacitated. Diana almost crashed her chariot."

Vesta shook her head. "Like you said, our power is useless. We must place our hope in the child. She has her prophecy, what ever it may be."

Juno gave a loud groan in frustration before flashing out of the room. The rest of the gods quickly left leaving Vesta with her hearth.

"Apollo, you have concern for your sister I assume."

Apollo shifted nervously. "Of course. I hate feeling so helpless."

"Don't you have a son you've yet to claim?"

"Yes, what of him?"

Vesta turned her fiery eyes to her nephew. "Don't claim him. Britney was only able to escape because she was unclaimed. That may prove useful in the future."

"But we swore an oath to claim our children when they come of age. The boy is already eleven, if this prophecy takes a long time to complete-"

"That oath has been broken many times over already. One more won't make a difference."

Apollo shrugged, "Alright, but I'm sending Styx on you if she comes after me."

Vesta let out a small chuckle as the god left to his chariot before turning back to her hearth and stoking it once more.

* * *

 **Sorry. I know this took a while, but I was busy and was mind blocked when faced with Britney's journey west. As you can tell, I just cut the journey out. However, I will still show how Britney's journey changed her.**

 **Thanks for reading.**

 **Goodbye and good luck.**

 **-B.D.S.**

 **Created January 16, 2017.**

 **Edited February 28, 2017.**


	17. The Romans

(3rd person)

The wolves gathered as they sensed an intruder. They silently stalked out of their house and into the surrounding wood. One she-wolf, much larger than the rest, sat regally in front of the house bathed in moonlight. After a few tense moments, a little girl stepped out of the woods accompanied by a silver wolf and a golden cat.

"Hello," the lead wolf growled, causing the girl to flinch as her pets growled a warning. "Don't worry, I have been awaiting your arrival for quite some time. It's time to see if you are a worthy legionnaire of Rome."

* * *

Several months later

* * *

(Reyna)

Senate meetings have not gotten any better; especially since we Romans are sticklers for traditions.

There is the plus side to having Frank as a co-praetor, but today's meeting in particular has the senate house in an uproar.

"We cannot make a new cohort!" One of my ten current headaches yelled over the commotion.

"A cohort for Greeks? Absurd!"

Frank raised his voice, "Calm down!"

The room fell quiet, as the only other times Frank raised his voice was during a battle.

"Now," Frank started. "With Camp Half-Blood out of commission, we have to make the Sixth Cohort an official cohort. It won't be forever, just until the Greeks can go to their own camp."

"What about centurions? And will they have seats in the Senate? None of them have even been here for a year; they are all _probatio_."

I stood and cleared my throat. "I would like to recommend Piper McLean and Leo Valdez as Centurions and Senators for the Sixth Cohort." I raised my voice over the protests, "They have been here for over five years, they proved themselves by defeating Gaia, and who better to lead the Greeks than Greeks themselves."

My suggestion was met with uproar.

"Romans would be more qualified!"

"They'll mutiny!"

"We would lose control of them!"

Frank raised his voice for the second time. A new record.

"Do you all think that Leo and Piper are not fit to lead? Years ago, when we were fighting the very monsters we recruited, they and Jason took to the skies and put Gaia asleep. And that was right after they killed several giants. And best of all, when they get their own camp back; they will trust Leo and Piper to lead them there."

The council went silent in thought.

My voice rang out, "I call the motion to create the _temporary_ Sixth Cohort and promote Leo Valdez and Piper McLean as centurions."

There was silence for several moments. Frank could of seconded the motion, but I had told him before hand not to.

Ben, one of the centurions from the Fifth, stood, "I second the motion."

A small smile graced my lips as the centurion stood. Although, the reasoning was probably to stop being what is considered the worst cohort.

"All in favor," Frank called.

Several hands went into the air. I quickly counted them, added two for Frank and I, and smiled widely as the total was eight hands in the air. The centurions from the First and the Second were the only ones who abstained.

"All against."

As I already knew, the centurions from the First and the Second were the only ones with their hands in the air.

"The motion has passed," I said with a grin. "I will send the news to the new centurions."

Whether or not the Senate meeting was officially over, I haven't the slightest. But right then was when Jason burst into the Senate house and graced us with his presence.

"Pontifex Maximus," I said in confusion. "Don't you have statues to build?"

It took a second for Jason to catch his breath before he was able to form words, "Outside—Monsters—So many."

I looked at Frank with wide eyes, to see his match my own.

"We have a situation!" I called to the Senate. "Gather your cohorts and form ranks at the Field of Mars!"

The centurions and Frank rushed out. Jason went to follow, but I caught his shoulder.

"Do you know where Piper and Leo are?"

Jason looked confused, "Of course, why?"

"They are the centurions for the newly established Sixth cohort. The Greeks are their legionnaires. This would be a good time for them to lead their cohort into battle, yes?"

Jason grinned with excitement, "I go tell them. Your probably needed out there."

I gave a swift nod and took off down the road. Jason was behind me, but he continued to the barracks as I ran to the field. The legion was already forming ranks in front of the fort we had built for tonight.

Frank was giving orders as I arrived, "We will form a line thirty feet from the boundary. Hazel left on Arion to scout out the fight."

Seconds later, a dust cloud billowed as the daughter of Pluto pulled her horse to a halt.

She didn't even let anyone ask before reporting, "There's no monsters."

Several legionaries started asking questions, but quieted as I raised my hand for silence.

"What did you see?" I asked.

Hazel shuddered, "They're mortals. Men, women, children, entire families; it's like the city of San Francisco walked to our doorstep just to stand there."

"Did they see you?"

Hazel shrugged, "They didn't notice me, but I did weave the Mist around me just in case, so..."

I nodded in understanding, "We'll form a defensive line here and have the fort to fall back into if necessary. We'll wait to see what they-"

A thunderous roar accompanied by a golden glow came from the enemy mass, stunning or scaring the legionaries.

"Lock shields!" Frank shouted, snapping our forces to attention as we created a defensive line.

I tuned to Hazel and held up my hand, "Let me up. I need to see something."

Hazel grabbed my hand and pulled me onto her mount, "You felt it too?"

I nodded, "I felt the power of Lord Jupiter."

.oOo.

We were over the ridge in an instant. I looked on in horror as I saw the mass amount of bodies charred beyond recognition.

"What?" Hazel asked as she stared at the scene. "They weren't like this a minute ago, what happened?"

As I scanned the landscape, I saw a flash of color.

"Hey," I prodded the cavalier before pointing to a small figure with two smaller things circling around it. "There's someone out there."

Hazel nudged Arion forward and rode around the charred mass of bodies, but Arion was fighting a bit.

"Arion!" Hazel cried. "I know it's cooked, but we have other things to do."

I stared at the horse, "Does he want to eat the bodies?"

Hazel looked at me helplessly, "It might be better if we just walk. At this rate, riding Arion is slower."

I felt Arion stiffen beneath me before he darted off to the figures in the distance, stopping mere feet away.

The two smaller figures were a silver wolf and a golden cat. The larger figure fell backwards coughing at the dust cloud Arion made.

"RUFF! RUFF RUFF!"

"HISSSSS!"

The two animals stood protectively in front of their young master, who I could now see was a young girl.

She was in desperate need of a bath, with dirty hair and even dirtier clothes. She had black running shoes that looked gray, jeans that were torn and sewed back together, and a blue hoodie with a matching backpack that had definitely seen too much.

Her face was pale, but it looked as if that was just her skin tone and not from something else. Her hair was a dull blue, but looked as if it could be vibrant with a good wash. Her silver eyes seemed to stare into an un-seeable abyss as she wearily stood and aimed her arm at my companions and myself. I couldn't see her hands.

"Who are you?" the girl asked. She sounded like she was trying to be intimidating, but was too scared to really convey the effect.

I slid off of Arion and held my hands up in surrender. "Seeing as you somehow tamed the Nemean Lion, I take it you're a demigod?"

The girl lowered her arm slightly. "Are you one too?"

I showed her my tattoo while speaking, "I am Reyna Ramírez-Arellano: Praetor of the Twelfth Legion, daughter of Bellona." I gestured at Hazel, "This is Hazel Levesque: Centurion of the Fifth cohort, daughter of Pluto, and our best cavalier."

"Only cavalier," Hazel cut in before petting her horse. "And this handful of a horse is Arion."

Arion whinnied something, probably profanity, as Hazel introduced him.

The girl lowered her arm completely and took bowed her head nervously. "My name is Britney Snow. My wolf is named Puppy and my cat is Kitty."

"Who's your godly parent?" I asked.

Britney looked up and pointed a gloved hand at the moon. "My mother is the moon. That's all I know."

I cocked my head to the side. "You mean Diana?"

The girl shook her head sadly. "No. No one knows who she is, not even the gods."

"What do you mean by that?" Hazel asked.

Britney looked at Hazel with a far-away gaze. "Could we talk about this somewhere else? The place Lupa told me to find is where you are from yes?"

Hazel shrugged and started to turn her steed around, but I held up my hand in protest.

"Wait," I ordered while staring down the little girl. "Do you know what happened to these people? On second there was a mob just standing here, and the next they dropped dead after a flash of light."

Britney looked stoically at the charred mass of what used to be human. "I had to kill them. Just like the groups before them. It was harder to try and single out the leader, especially when _she_ kept switching."

"She?"

"Names have power," the girl said simply. "And she has quite enough to be able to pull this off everyday."

"You said that you killed them, but I felt the power of Jupiter come from this ridge. I'm certain of that."

The girl pulled back her right sleeve of her hoodie and inspected her bracelet while talking, "It was Zeus, actually. I took some of his power and made it my own."

I stepped back in shock. "You did _what_?"

Britney pointed her arm to the sky and I watched in amazement as her bracelet grew to cover her forearm. Her hand disappeared into the barrel of her weapon and was soon replaced by a large bolt of lightning that did indeed hold the power of Zeus.

I stared on wonder and confusion before remembering that the _entire_ legion was on high alert just out of view.

"Hazel!" I yelled while leaping astride her mount. "Take us to the others before they freak out."

"The camp's just over the ridge!" I called out to the little girl before Arion rode off to the others.

* * *

(Britney)

As I walked over the ridge, I was a little impressed by their formation. They were lined up in six columns, each around forty people strong. Reyna and a large man were at the front.

"You know, Kitty." I said with a knowing smirk. "Between the three of us, we could take 'em. I could do it all myself, or I could leave a couple playthings for you two. You didn't get a chance last time."

Kitty looked at me with heavy disapproval, as did Puppy.

I sighed, "You two need a sense of humor."

I heard a loud cry and I saw the legion below lock shields for defense.

I started my may down the hill with Puppy on my left and Kitty on my right, as if we were charging into battle.

"Is this really necessary?" I asked, as I got closer to the legion.

"We were expecting a horde of monsters to come from that ridge," the man at Reyna's side said. "Not for a little girl to come prancing down."

"I wish they were monsters," I muttered. "They're easier to kill."

"Britney," Reyna broke in. "This is Frank Zhang, the other Praetor of our legion. Frank, this is Britney. Daughter of the moon."

"Isn't Diana a maiden goddess?" Frank asked.

"She's not my mother," I said. "Artemis told me that it was impossible for Diana, Selena, Luna, or herself to be my mother."

"How do you figure?"

"Diana drives the lunar chariot and is chaste, Artemis has her hunt and is still chaste, and the other two faded."

"Well," Frank said. "Lets get you to Temple Hill and consult the auguries."

"Auguries?" i asked.

"They will tell us whether you are friend or foe," Reyna explained.

"You better hope they say 'friend', because you don't stand a chance."

.oOo.

Hazel was sent with me to Temple Hill. Reyna made some comment about how she accompanied the last strange arrival.

Temple Hill was nice to look at. There were a few temples that looked especially grand, and then there was the tool shed of a temple for Neptune.

The largest of the temples was for Jupiter, probably because he said so. They also referred to him as the 'best and the greatest', which I also think was his influence. There was a massive statue made from gold and ivory depicting the arrogant god in the center of the temple, along with a table surrounded by stuffing and stuffed animal carcasses.

"Augur!" Hazel shouted from my side. "Get over here!"

"I'm coming! Geez, can't a guy take a break?"

A young boy, around twelve, walked around the statue. He was blond with a purple shirt similar to the other campers I'd seen and faded jeans.

The boy gave a flirtatious smile and stuck out his hand when he saw me, "And who are you?"

"Nine years old," I deadpanned. "So lose the smile before you lose your manhood."

The boy awkwardly dropped his hand. "I was looking for a name, but..."

"Just do you job and read her auguries," Hazel said impatiently. "I have that tournament to prepare for."

"Oh, yes!" the boy exclaimed theatrically. "The Grand Tournament! Where centurions of each cohort face off in monumental battles." The boy gave wink at me and brought back that stupid smile, "And if this lovely lady needs a date to the event-"

I pulled out a large broadsword and held it at the boy's throat.

I made by cutting one of my spears into a one-inch slab before sharpening both edges into a double-edged sword. It was just as long as the spear it came from and had proven to be a useful addition to my arsenal.

"I can make this bigger," I warned as I pressed the blade into the boy's throat.

"That's what she said," the boy gasped out.

The world tinted red as my rage consumed me. My other blaster started sparking as I prepared to fire a bolt of lightning into the boy's gut when Hazel held her own sword in front of me as a warning.

"He's not worth it."

"He's being disrespectful," I spat. "He's a pig who can't take a hint and doesn't need to procreate."

"I don't care," Hazel said loudly. "We don't harm our own."

"I'm a Hunter of Artemis, _he's_ not part of my own."

"Well here you're a Roman," Hazel declared. "Unless the auguries prove otherwise."

I banished my weapons and stepped away from the boy while growling, "I'm not liking this whole 'Roman' thing."

"What do you Hunters have against boys anyway?" the boy asked. "In ancient times you killed men on sight."

"You're lucky we changed our ways."

"You didn't answer my question."

"Hmm?"

"What do you have against males?"

"All Hunters have something," I sneered. "But I wouldn't dream of telling you."

"I think you just have excuses."

"Do you want a sword in place of your throat?!"

"Riley!" Hazel shouted. "The Hunters have their reasons. Let it go and do you job."

Riley huffed, "Fine."

He turned to me and glared, "Do you even have letters, Grecian."

"Letters?"

Hazel sighed, "Letters of recommendation. Your mortal parent or a past legionnaire usually gives them to you. I can't believe both of our praetors forgot about them."

"Oh," I replied while sliding my bag to the ground and digging around through the pocket. "I know it's in here somewhere."

"While you're in there," Riley said impatiently. "I'll also need a stuffed animal if you got it."

I stood back up and sighed.

"Kitty!" I called to my golden cat who was busy romping around with Puppy in the discarded stuffing and felt.

My cat walked over to me and started washing herself.

"I need you to find my letter Diana gave me and a stuffed animal you don't need."

Kitty jumped into her bag and started digging around. She returned with a silver envelope and placed it in my hand before diving back into her bag.

I sighed, "One day I'll figure out how she organizes that thing."

"Are those your letters?" Hazel asked.

"Hmm? Oh, yeah. Diana gave them to me right after she shot down any hopes I had about her being my mother."

I gave Hazel the envelope as she whistled harshly, making Puppy roll over in pain and Kitty yowl in protest. Riley and I just winced.

"Damn, Hazel," Riley complained. "Give us a warning next time."

"Suck it up, you big baby."

Riley threw his hands up in anger. "Why are you so hateful towards me?" He yelled at me. "I haven't done anything to you!"

At that moment, a stuffed animal shaped like a pig hit his face before settling on the table in front of him.

"Nice shot, Kitty!" I praised as the golden cat jumped back out of her bag. "Now go play with Puppy."

The two animals batted each other around for a second before darting back into the stuffing. I got so distracted watching the pile of fluff shift as they dug through it, that I jumped when Riley groaned in annoyance.

"I keep telling you guys that I can't read this stuff!" Riley whined as he pushed all of the stuffing and the felt covering off of the table in rage. "I'm haven't even been claimed by Apollo, and I know I'm not a legacy. I shouldn't be doing this!"

Hazel placed her hand on his shoulder, "You are the most qualified person for this. None of the children of Apollo or any of the legacies have the gift of prophecy. Yet you are the only person who can read that prophecy you found, and that-"

"That doesn't prove anything!" Riley said in frustration. "It doesn't take a child of Apollo to read a stupid prophecy. I carved it into the floor of this temple, and all you see are six lines! And don't think of a second that I don't here what others call it. What is it, 'The Six Lines of Crazy'?"

I scanned the floor in curiosity, "What are you talking about?"

"It's over there, the six lines of varying lengths," Hazel said.

I walked over to where she pointed, but I didn't see any lines. Instead, I say the words that haunted my dreams.

"Hazel, are you certain that you see six lines?" I asked.

"Can't you?" Riley asked. "Aren't you just going to jump at the chance to call me crazy like everyone else?"

I stared down Riley and recited the prophecy I'd received over a year ago. As I went on, his blue eyes grew until they were the size of saucers.

"You know what it says?" Riley asked in astonishment.

"The Oracle of Delphi told me this in the middle of a council meeting at Mount Olympus," I explained. "Not even the gods could hear it."

"Wait," Hazel interrupted while making a time-out sign with her hands. "The _gods_ couldn't hear it?"

"No," I answered miserably before letting out a small laugh. "Artemis actually attacked Apollo because of it. The idea of no one else understanding made me sad and in turn it made Arty pissed."

"Did you just call the goddess of the Hunt Arty?" Hazel asked in a serious tone.

"Wouldn't be the first time," I said with a smile before at fell along with my mood as I remembered Camp Half-Blood. "And it's not like she can do anything about it."

"She a goddess," Hazel argued. "I fought with her against the giant army. I know that she could shoot you where you stand."

"Not if she's at the Greek camp."

"What?" Riley and Hazel asked in shock.

"The Greek campers, Artemis and her Hunt, Dionysus, Chiron, and Zeus are all frozen in time. I know because I saw all of them stuck there helpless as I grabbed Puppy and ran before he joined them."

"You were in the camp when the golden dome appeared?" Hazel asked.

I nodded.

"Why weren't you frozen?" Riley asked.

"It only freezes people who know both of their parents. I don't know who my mother is, and Puppy was too young. However, because he's a hunting wolf, he would have froze if he was under there a minute longer."

Riley slammed the table. "Why didn't you try to help anyone else?" he yelled. "You just left all of them there? Aren't you a Hunter? Shouldn't you have at least tried to rescue one of you sisters?"

"I'm not a Hunter!" I yelled back with tears pooling in my eyes as the memories came back. "I couldn't become one because Artemis didn't know if receiving her blessing would affect my quest. You should know this because the prophecy says that I have to go alone! And who do you think the 'creator of all' is? It was her and her father's power that created the dome in the first place! How was I supposed to compete with that when I just saw everyone I cared about become frozen right in front of my face?"

Riley was stunned into silence. Hazel, on the other hand, piped in for the sake of clarification.

"Could you repeat some of that?" the older girl asked. "You kind of cut in and out for while there. Who was the person who made the dome?"

"You know the goddess you had to fight in the giant war?" I asked while wiping the tears from my eyes.

"Yeah."

"It was her mother."

Hazel was silent.

"Don't say her name," I warned. "I don't need a harder fight."

"Do you have another stuffed animal?" Riley asked. "If you have that impossible task, I can at least _try_ to read some auguries."

I called for Kitty to get another stuffed animal, and this time I was permitted to join the Romans.

.oOo.

"So how does this whole tournament thing work?" I asked Riley while we walked to the arena.

"Well," Riley started. "It started a few years ago, right after the giant war. It started as a full-blown tournament through out the whole legion, but it's unofficially just between the centurions now."

"Could anyone officially enter this tournament?" I asked hopefully.

"Yep," Riley answered. "Literally any one could join, even the Greek campers that used to visit."

"So you don't even need to be a member of the legion?"

"Nope. You could even enter if you wanted to."

A large smile spread across my face, "Where do I sign up?"

Riley stopped and faced me, "Are you serious? You're almost half their age and it's been a doubles tournament for the last two years. Who's going to be your partner?"

"I beat Artemis in my first ever fight, I can take on a few people."

Riley sighed, "All right. Let's get you signed up."

* * *

 **Sorry this took a while. My apologies. There will be another update in the next 31 days, promise.**

 **Thanks for reading.**

 **Goodbye and good luck.**

 **-B.D.S.**

 **Created February 28, 2017.**


	18. The Tournament

**It's been exactly 31 days. Don't be mad at me.  
**

* * *

(Reyna)

The tournament had begun. At present, the arena was filled with performers as the last of the spectators filed in, filled excitement for the coming battles.

"Who do you think we'll fight this year," Frank whispered into my right ear.

I just shrugged. "It might be the First cohort, or maybe Piper and Leo will show the strength necessary to save the world and take it all. I just hope it won't be as easy as last year."

The tournament was fought in a Round Robin style, with each cohort given the chance to fight each other. The cohort with the most wins fights the praetors. Another match settles any ties there might be between the top two cohorts. However, each day can only permit two battles. This year, the tournament would last for four days: two rounds today, two rounds tomorrow, two the next day, and the final day would be for any ties and the Praetorian match.

"Do you think anyone else will enter this year?" Frank asked.

I shook my head, "I doubt it. They seem to prefer to just use their centurions as champions."

The performers started moving out if the arena and headed for their own seats to watch the matches. As they left, Jason took to the center of the arena with a cordless microphone.

"Welcome, everyone, to the sixth annual Tournament."

Jason paused as everyone cheered before continuing, "In case any of you don't know who I am, my name is Jason Grace and I was named Pontifex Maximus by the Olympian council."

"Augur!" Jason cried as he pointed to Riley who held a stuffed giraffe and a knife. "Consult the auguries! Tell us if the gods bless the Tournament!"

Riley slashed open the stuffed animal and fumbled with the stuffing.

"The gods approve!" he shouted uncertainly, but the severe silence proved that many doubted his prophetic power.

To be fair, Riley didn't want to be the augur anyway. He only was the augur because he was able to read a prophecy that no one else could, and that made people think he just made the thing up.

"Now it is time to announce the fighters!" Jason cried and was met with very good reception. Meanwhile, Riley walked dejectedly out of the arena.

"Representing the First Cohort: centurion Daniel Alexander and centurion Kaylee Mathews."

The two walked out of the tunnel at the opposite side of the arena, waving excitedly at the crowd. As it quickly became custom, both centurions gave a quick display of their power.

Daniel, as a son of Mercury, took an almost instant lap around the arena. At the same time, Kaylee used her powers that she got from her mother: Hecate. Using her power over the mist, Kaylee made Daniel appear to go even faster than he really did.

"Up next," Jason cried as Daniel and Kaylee went back into the tunnel. "Representing the Second Cohort: centurion Amber Wesley and centurion Keith York."

There was more cheering as the centurions walked out of the tunnel like the others. They went on to show their powers: Jade with her archery prowess from her father Apollo, and Keith quickly constructing a weapon as proof of his lineage from Vulcan.

The rest of the cohorts followed. The Third had Michael and Amanda, twins from Mars. The Fourth had Viridi, a legacy of Ceres, and Preston, son of Bacchus. The Fifth had Ralph, son of Janus, and Hazel, daughter of Pluto. Finally, the newly created Sixth Cohort had Piper, daughter of Aphrodite, and Leo, son of Hephaestus.

"However," Jason continued as Piper dragged Leo back into the tunnel. "There are two more contestants. Two more people who entered the Tournament."

I leaned a bit forward in my seat. It was the third Tournament that fought between just the centurions.

"Our last team is Britney and Delia Snow!"

Out of the tunnel came Britney, who had the biggest smirk I'd ever seen on her face.

"Uh," Jason said a bit confused. "Where's the other one?"

"Delia's my middle name," Britney said with a shrug. "But I'm okay with fighting two people at once."

"This just made the tournament unnecessarily longer," Frank sighed.

"Well, Britney," Jason said, jumping back into his announcer's voice. "Can you show us the powers your godly parent gave you?"

"No," Britney said. "I don't know who my mother is, so I can't show you that." Britney smirk grew as she continued, "But I can show you this."

Britney raised both of her arms into the sky and shot out a bolt of lightning and a torrent of green flames. Both columns disappeared as quickly as they arrived. The crowd was stunned.

"At least it'll be interesting," I whispered to Frank who nodded silently.

"You should have recognized that power, Jason Grace," Britney said cryptically. "I took that bolt from your father when he tried to force me to leave on my quest."

"How do you know my father?" Jason asked.

"Because I know your sister," Britney said sadly. "And I know where she is."

"Tell me later," Jason said quickly. "But for now, we have a tournament to begin!"

The crowd erupted into cheers while Britney and Jason left the Arena. As the centurions from the first two cohorts came out to begin their fight, the noise from the crowd became a dull roar.

"Let's see who we might fight this year," I whispered to Frank.

"Is it bad if I feel that Britney will be the hardest to fight," he whispered back.

"She sounded pretty sure, earlier, about being able to defeat the legion. Let's see if she's good for it."

We didn't talk for the rest of the fight, as we were too busy studying our possible opponents.

* * *

(Britney)

As we got into the training room for last minute preparations, Jason cleared his throat.

"Britney?" Jason called worriedly, "What do you know about my sister?"

I sighed, "Thalia, the rest of the Hunt, and even Lady Artemis are at Camp Half-Blood."

Jason looked at me confused, "But no one can get into that camp."

I looked up at the older boy. "They were already at camp," I explained.

Jason staggered backward until his back hit the tunnel wall, "What? N-No," he stuttered from worry. "No. You're joking. You have to be joking. The Hunters don't like going to Camp Half-Blood, or even here. They wouldn't be at camp, they wouldn't."

"I'm not joking, Jason Grace."

"How do you know she's there!" Jason yelled. I didn't flinch, nor did I blame him for his outburst: the tears of fright and disbelief were clearly visible. "You can't know, can you? You'd be trapped like the rest of them if you were there!"

"I was there," I said calmly, "As was my wolf. Had we been there for a while longer, Puppy would still be in there."

"If you can escape, then why couldn't Thalia?"

"She knows who created her: Zeus and her mother."

"What, and you don't know that your parents created you?" Jason asked sarcastically.

"I have no idea who my mother is."

"So? You know that you have one, right?"

I sighed, "I'm not sure anymore. Artemis and Diana both told me, to my face, that neither of them wasn't my mother. Selena and Luna have faded, and Hestia told me that I am the only child of whoever is my mother so that rules out minor lunar goddesses who already have children: like Hecate. I'm not seeing any more options."

"What about your father?" Jason asked with a significantly softer tone, "Wouldn't he know?"

"I killed my father with Lady Artemis's bow the day after I met her and the Hunt. If he knew, it's too late."

"Oh. Well shoot, I got nothing."

"I'm sorry about your sister," I said after a moment of silence, "I wanted to get Puppy out before he froze, but I couldn't get back in. And the one who did it..."

"Who created the dome?" Jason asked in a voice laced with malice, "Who needs to fade?"

I shook my head, "You're not strong enough."

"I helped put Gaea back to sleep, who are you say I'm not strong enough?"

"Ooh," I mocked, "Big, bad son-of-Jupiter wants a challenge. You could only put Gaea to sleep after you went and took her off her turf. What exactly would have been your plan if you couldn't have flown her up there?"

"We would've thought of something," Jason defended, "We were busy with the monster militia Octavian hired and-"

"And nothing. You didn't even come up with the plan, other deities had to practically spell it out for you. And I doubt you could come up with such a plan for Gaea's mother!"

As I finished, I slammed my hands over my mouth in hope that Jason didn't understand. I knew he would, though. You can't save the world as an idiot.

"C-"

"Don't say her name!" I screamed in panic.

"Oh man," Jason groaned as he started pacing the corridor, "You're right: I'm not strong enough."

"At least you don't have to fight her in order to find your mother."

Jason spun around to face me, "You can't fight her! No one can!"

I shook my head, "I have to. If I don't, then I won't be the only one with a broken family."

"We're demigods," Jason argued, "We all have broken families!"

"We have unusual families, yes, but they are far from broken. Thalia's already been a tree; do you really want her to be frozen in time for eternity? What about Percy and Annabeth? Or your father? Granted, I don't like the guy very much after the way he treated Artemis, but he's still your father."

Jason leaned back onto the wall to allow the stone tunnel to support his weight as reality crashed down upon his shoulders.

"Thank you for explaining this to me. Would you mind if I explain this at a senate meeting?"

I gave a caring smile, "I probably should after I put you Romans in your place. I can tell you don't want to tell about how your sister is trapped in time, and the Senate will listen to me after I prove my strength."

Jason looked at me curiously, "I thought Hunters hated males?"

"You're Thalia's brother, and Percy and Annabeth spoke highly of you. I feel that I can trust you, so I'm not as cold."

"I think it's just that the Hunters haven't had enough time to brainwash you," Jason teased.

"The Greek Fire in my blaster was thrown at me from some campers, so I don't need to be brainwashed."

Jason smiled, "Alright, whatever you say. I need to go and be ready to announce the next battle."

I gave a slight nod of my head in farewell, but as Jason got farther down the tunnel I called out one last time.

"You're darn right it's whatever I say!"

I heard Jason laugh from the end of the tunnel as he waved me off. I gave a little laugh as well and went into the waiting room in anticipation.

This was going to be fun.

.oOo.

I was back in the center of the arena with Jason standing by my side. He was going saying how I didn't get to pick which cohort I fought each day because I made the tournament uneven.

"The cohort that chose to fight first is the First Cohort! They look to continue their winning streak and gain an early lead!"

Two teenagers, I would guess around seventeen, walked out of the tunnel. The boy had a katana strapped to his waist and kept bouncing around as if he had too much energy, while the girl made a ball of white smoke dance along with her own sword.

"This match will be between centurion Daniel Alexander and centurion Kaylee Mathews from the First Cohort, and Britney Snow."

I took a few leisurely paces backward and hid my hands behind my back as my opponents whispered to each other for a few last minute plans.

"Ready! Set! Begin!"

Once Jason announced the start of the battle, Kaylee made her white ball of smoke burst into a large cloud that encased the arena.

Kaylee's voice rang out, "Do you really think you have a place in this tournament, little girl?"

I readied my blasters and held my ground as I prepared for an attack. I heard the sound of a sword being unsheathed come from my left and I shot a javelin through the smoke. Not a moment later, I received a kick to the back that sent me into the dust.

I growled as I stood back up, ready and alert as I prepared for another sneaky attack. I saw the boy through the smoke and fired another spear, but the spear only went a few feet before burying itself into the arena walls.

I looked around, seeing several shadows of the boy. I quickly fired a line of arrows through the smoke, listening as they each flew through the smoke.

'Clink'

The silhouettes all moved in sync, but the sound of an arrow glancing off of a blade came from only one of them.

I fired more arrows toward the sound, but none of them hit their mark.

"I'm just too fast for you girly!" Daniel taunted from right behind me before darting away again.

I equipped my shields and just kept narrowly blocking Daniel's attacks.

'How do I slow him down?' I thought for a moment before remembering what I did when I fought the graceful Huntress.

I stabbed several shields into the dirt as a protective ring and aimed my blasters at the ground. The ground darkened at an alarming rate, and soon I heard Daniel shout in surprise as he slipped in the mud that I was rapidly creating.

"Kaylee?" Daniel screamed in confusion, "Did you do this?"

"Do what?" Kaylee screamed back from the opposite end of the arena before shrieking in horror, "Why has the ground turned into mud? I'm supposed to control the arena!"

"Get rid of this blasted Mist, Kaylee!" Daniel screamed, "I can't see where I'm going!"

Seconds later, the smoke went away and I dismissed my shields to fully appreciate my handiwork.

The entire floor from two inches away from me outward had been turned from a fine dust to slick mud. The ground closer to me was even starting to turn into a large puddle.

"Where in Hades did this water come from?" Daniel yelled as he tried in vain to regain his footing.

I stood up with water still shooting at the ground with both blasters. As I walked, I displaced the water to where I had been, making sure that the only dry spot was at where I was.

"Best of the legion, eh?" I taunted as I walked toward Kaylee with water still spewing from my blasters, "You're not showing that very well seeing as you get taken down by a little bit of water."

Daniel managed to get his feet under him and threw his sword in a last ditch effort. I swung my left arm out and caught the sword in the torrent of water, stopping it in its tracks.

"I have full control over what comes out of my blasters," I said with a smirk.

The sword spun an 180 to where the blade pointed at its owner. The water on the ground merged with the water around the sword and thrust the weapon at Daniel. As the sword cut through the air, more water shaped like my spears rose to support the burden. Soon, the sword was back with its owner but pointed at his neck.

Daniel went to reach for his blade, but right before he grasped it, the ever-growing puddle had reached his right shoe.

In an instant my water rushed up his body and formed a cocoon around him, leaving the centurion helpless.

"Hey!" he screamed as I had left his head uncovered: A decision I was now regretting, "What did you just do?"

"Isn't it obvious?" I scoffed, "You're in the position to surrender, I suggest you do so."

Daniel gave a smirk of his own, "You're forgetting that you signed up for a 2v1 match."

I smiled as I heard the rapid splashing of water as Kaylee charged in, now screaming seeing as her stealth was blown.

"Release- Eek!"

A cocoon of her own quickly formed around Kaylee once she had entered my puddle and said cocoon turned her war cry into a yelp.

"As I said," I continued with a dark smile, "You're in the position to surrender."

Daniel's sword was discouraging him from making any attempts at escape, and once Kaylee's sword did the same, her struggles stopped as well.

"So?" I asked with an air of authority, "Do you yield?"

"We yield," the centurions chorused in defeat and brought the arena to a total silence.

With my smile still firmly in place, I dissipated all of my water. The swords and their owners fell to the instantly dry dirt.

"THE WINNER IS BRITNEY SNOW!" Jason yelled into his microphone and sent the arena into an uproar.

Most of the spectators were still silent, but the loudest of them all was a group of legionnaires from the first cohort that was blatantly disappointed to see their centurions lose.

"Riley!" I screamed over the chaos, "Time!"

"Ten minutes!" Riley shouted, "How's that for a warm up?"

"It'll have to do!"

I spun to face the tunnel that Daniel and Kaylee we slinking back to before issuing my next challenge.

"I WISH TO FACE THE NEXT COHORT THAT WANTS TO TAKE UP ARMS AGAINST ME!"

"A CHALLENGE!" Jason said in excitement from his post, "And seeing as how quickly Britney was able to complete her last match, the tournament might not be as long as we thought.

"I can end it today!" I boasted from the center of the arena, "I can beat all of the centurions, securing my position as the winner of the tournament, then beat the praetors you all hold in such high regard."

I could see the Third and Second centurions standing at the tunnel entrance. The two from the Second were just looking at each other awkwardly, but the centurions from the Third were fuming. I grinned maliciously as I saw the two each having an internal debate on whether on not to accept my challenge.

"I wish to face the next cohort that chose to take up arms against me unless they're a couple of pansies that back down from a challenge," I taunted as I locked eyes with the enraged pair of demigods.

"WE ACCEPT HER CHALLENGE!" the boy roared as he stepped out of the tunnel, his companion not far behind. The two left in the tunnel shared a quick glance before sitting in the dirt to watch the show.

"KNELL BEFORE THE MIGHT OF MARS!" the girl roared just as loudly as she pointed her long sword at me.

"Well," Jason said from his post, "It seems the match between Britney and the Second Cohort is happening sooner than we thought." Jason looked up at the praetors helplessly, "Do I just let them fight, or what?"

Reyna grabbed her own microphone and laughed into it before speaking, "Let the girl fight! Let's see if her boasts have some sustenance to them! Let us see the might of a Hunter."

Reyna locked eyes with me, "You will have your six fights in a row, but if you fail... Just don't fail."

"Wasn't planning on it!" I yelled back.

"Well then," Jason continued, "I guess the next match will be between centurion Michael Winsley and centurion Amanda Winsley of the Third Cohort, and Britney Snow. The Third has no wins and one loss, while Britney has one win and no losses. Will Britney further her lead, or with the twins tie it up? Let's see who the victor shall be!"

"You're going to regret challenging us like that, girly," Michael taunted as he banged his two-handed sword against his shield.

In fact, while both siblings wielded a long sword, they used only one hand to hold it and the other held a shield. Their set-up was mostly for hard attacks that could be severely punished, but the shield was to help counter that.

'Why am I thinking so much into this? I just need to make an example of these idiots and show the rest that I mean business.'

With a loud cry, the siblings charged in.

Could I have analyzed their attacks and found a more fair way to beat them? Yes. Was my plan a little overkill? Most definitely. Will this still be fun? Heck yeah.

The twins hadn't gone a dozen feet before I fired a bolt of lightning from my left blaster. It was nothing like the one I had shot a the horde earlier today, but it was still a copy of Zeus's master bolt and even at it's weakest state it could knock out a couple of nimrods. Besides, I used the lightning as my introductory display of power at the beginning of this, so it's not as if no one knew I had this.

The arc of electricity hit the pair dead-on; neither of them had time to do anything but barrel straight into the golden bolt and fly back as far as they'd come as the arc reacted with their metal armor and launched them away.

Their swords flew out of their hands and clattered in the dirt. Their shields followed suit. Parts of their plate mail flew off as well, and quite a lot broke off as they hit the dirt. Hard.

Neither of them moved. A few medics came over a checked their pulses as everyone watched. I had thought about how their armor would react with the bolt, so knew they would be fine. However, I still released a breath of relief as the medics gave their verdict.

"They're out cold. They're fine, not even burned, just knocked out."

"Well," Jason said, "Looks like this round goes to Britney."

The arena stayed silent, but Riley spoke up awkwardly, "Umm, I didn't exactly have a chance to start my timer, soooo..."

I gave a nod in Riley's direction before looking back to the tunnel.

"Is the next cohort going to come out here," I yelled, "Or do I have to go in there and drag you out before I beat you back in?"

The centurions from the Second were also looking down the dark hall in anticipation, so I figured they weren't next. After a few moments, my opponents walked out of the tunnel.

Like the others, it was a male/female pair. The girl had a green dress and was striking two golden sickles against each other. The boy was in regular street clothes and took a swig from a stainless steel flask before looking at me.

"Damn," the boy slurred with a look that almost made me shoot him on the spot, "Dakota was right, cherry is the best."

I blinked in surprise as I had been expecting some inappropriate comment and not a drink review.

"Is he able to fight?" I asked the girl in green.

"Not particularly," the girl answered, "He had a few too many celebratory drinks after we won our first match, even though they weren't much of a challenge."

"Which cohort did you fight?" I asked.

The girl gave a small laugh, "The same one you almost shocked the lives out of. I got to admit, your weapons, there, are very interesting. Did your parent give them to you or did you kill someone for it?"

"I got the blasters themselves from my brother," I answered, "But the weapons inside I got later."

"Your brother a demigod too?"

"He died before I could figure that out," I deadpanned emotionlessly.

The girl winced, "Ah, sorry to hear that."

I shrugged, "I've seen and caused enough death by now that it doesn't bother me as much. If you really want to see my power, go out the northern border of camp."

The girl gave a slight smirk, "I heard Reyna say something about that. Too bad she didn't let any of us go over there."

I shook my head, "It's not something you would want to see."

At that moment, Jason got back on his microphone, "The next match will be between centurion Viridi Maple and centurion Preston Lindeman of the Fourth Cohort, and Britney Snow. The Fourth has one win and no losses, while Britney has two wins and no losses."

The girl readied her sickles and grinned at me. I prepared my own, weaponless stance and smiled back. Preston tripped over himself and face planted into the dirt.

"BEGIN!" Jason shouted over the drone of the crowd and then the battle was on.

Viridi came at with her sickles, to which responded with a quick block from my shield before dismissing it and flashing in my own blades to combat hers.

"I've never seen blades like that before," Viridi commented at we traded blows, "Where did you get them?"

"I found them in Camp Half-Blood's armory. Those campers probably couldn't figure out how to use them and threw them in the back for me to find."

Viridi locked her blades with mine and looked very surprised as she took a closer glance at my blades.

"What metal is that?"

"Celestial Bronze and silver," I answered, "Lady Artemis created them herself when the Hunt outnumbered heroes."

"Interesting. I assume that the silver harms mortals like a Hunter's knife?"

"All of my weapons can harm both mortals and monsters."

Viridi's face twisted into a smirk, "But how do they fare against nature?"

Viridi pushed her sickles against my blades before using the force to roll away. Before I could react offensively, she flung a handful of pellets at me that I quickly blocked with my shield in fear that they could harm me.

"What were those?" I asked.

"My grandmother blessed me with the ability to create seeds and plant them where ever," Viridi explained, "Tell me: How do you plan on beating a forest?"

With her last words acting like a command, the ground around me exploded with growth. The sandy dirt was covered in a blanket of grass and hardwoods quickly sprouted and blossomed into trees taller than the arena and much thicker than myself.

"What's you plan now?" Viridi asked high up from a central tree, "Bronze and silver won't do anything against nature."

"I take it my water will simply be absorbed and used to strengthen your forest?" I asked.

"Yup! And I made each tree a perfect lightning rod, so your lightning won't have any effect either."

"I'm assuming that my lightning won't ignite them."

Viridi's smirk was still firmly in place, "Nope. They are more fire resistant than normal trees."

I extended a sword from each blaster, "Would any fire best your trees?"

"I doubt even Greek fire could burn down my forest!" Viridi boasted.

With a slight movement of my arms for added flair, I ignited my swords with my green flames. With a smirk of my own, I stared down Viridi, "Let's test that theory."

I swung both blades at the closest tree with the dripping flames blackening the grass they touched. The two swords sank into the wood with a thud. I couldn't cut all the way through the tree, I wasn't aided _that_ much by my blasters, but after a few seconds the bark around my swords combusted into green flames that started dancing their way up the trunk towards the leaves and thin branches that would be easier to consume. However, even with all of the fire there was no smoke.

"AAAAARRRRRRGGGGGGGHHHHHHH!" Viridi screamed in agony and fell from her perch.

I wasn't strong enough to pull my blades back out, so I just left them in the tree to help fuel the fire. I quickly sprouted two new swords and drove each into their own tree to burn to cinders.

"AAAAAAHHHHHHH!" Viridi screamed in pain as her forest burned, "I WILL END YOU!"

Viridi rushed toward me, but instead of facing her with my blades I fought against her with flaming swords. Viridi had a disadvantage due to the pain she felt from her forest, but her rage induced by my flames made her attack ferociously.

As strong as her attacks were, her swings were wild and wasn't hard to dodge. I took every opportunity to shoot a sword into unlit tree, and each time a sword dug into the wood Viridi recoiled and screamed in anguish.

"HOW DARE YOU!" Viridi screamed as she swung at me with her blades

A minute later, all of her trees were in a full blaze and I tempered the fire to where it wouldn't travel any further or burn any of the trees to the ground. As her forest burned, Viridi collapsed to the ground in pain.

"AAAHHH! HOW COULD YOU!"

"That's one down," I muttered to myself as I made a water-chain wrap around the screaming girl before banishing the water and leaving the chain. With the chain still binding Viridi, I started dragging her to where Preston was sleeping against the arena wall.

With Viridi still screaming and writhing in her metal cocoon, I walked up to the sleeping male and held a sword to his throat.

"Wha?" Preston flinched as he felt the cold metal on his neck.

I gave a malicious grin, "Don't jump to much," I warned, "As much as I would enjoy it, I don't think you Romans could handle the blood."

Preston saw Viridi struggling against her binds and the forest burning behind me before he made the oh so wise decision to surrender.

"I yield," Preston said with his arms raised in surrender.

"Viridi," I called to the girl behind me, "Do you yield?"

"I yield! I yield! Just put out the fire!"

With that, I banished my swords, the chain, and all of my fire. With the surrender of the Forth Cohort, Jason started saying more pointless things on his microphone.

"My forest!" Viridi gasped as she used her returned freedom to her woods.

"I didn't burn it down if that's what you were worried about," I called as I followed the girl.

"What?" Viridi asked skeptically as she stopped inspecting her tress for a moment to face me.

"My plan was to piss you off, not hurt you," I explained, "You were so confident that your forest would beat me that I figured burning it would break your demeanor. Based on what I saw of your personality, I knew that burning your forest would anger you, which it did, and you would make careless mistakes that would make it easier to subdue you, which you did."

"But when you started burning my trees, I was in pain and you kept burning them."

"What actually happened was more effective than my plan," I admitted, "So I changed my plan on the spot."

"To what?" Viridi asked.

"And reveal my secrets?" I asked with a teasing smile.

Viridi laughed, "Alright, I guess that'll do for now. But I have to ask: If you're going to be a hunter, why did you burn a forest?"

"Well, I didn't _actually_ burn the forest," I said in my defense, "And that isn't something I just do on a whim. Igniting your trees had a strategic advantage that I manipulated, yes, but I never intended to turn your forest to ashes."

"Okay," Viridi said after a short while, "I believe you. We should meet up again after the tournament."

"Okay," I agreed, "I'd rather be around you that anyone else I've met so..."

Viridi laughed, "Nice answer! If you'll excuse me, I need to find Preston and go back to the waiting room."

I nodded and waved to her in farewell. As Viridi moved through the forest the greenery would slowly seep back into her, and by the time she walked through the tunnel with her co-centurion in tow, the forest that had once dominated the arena was gone.

"ALL RIGHT!" I yelled with a grin plastered to my face, "WHO'S NEXT!"

* * *

 **I meant to have finished this sooner, but apparently writing battle scenes is not my forte.**

 **Thanks for reading.**

 **Goodbye and good luck.**

 **-B.D.S.**

 **Created March 31, 2017.**


End file.
